Digicross Advanced Season 1
by Josh Johannesen
Summary: What happens when a bunch of Digidestined from Digicross go on their own adventure in Hoenn? It's time to end the season! Season 2 now under way! Look for it under the new heading: Rise of Darkness!
1. Ep 1: A Hoenn New Adventure

Digicross Advanced Episode 1: "A Hoenn New Adventure!"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, Pokemon or Digicross. Those belong to Bandai, Nintendo (TPC/Game Freak) and Patrick O'Shea respectively. The Digicross "license" is used with permission of Patrick O'Shea.

Character of Kyle Evanick is used with permission from Kyle Evanick and Caryl Kyashi's character is used with Caryl Kyashi's permission. (What original names… just kidding!) And my character is used with… my permission. (What a waste of space!)

Narrator: The Poke-World has always been a relatively peaceful place. Sure, you had your occasional problem from the nefarious Team Rocket, and occasional possible catastrophes. However, they were always thwarted by one or more of the capable Pokemon trainers in the world.

That all changed when Kyle Ellison was teleported to an unknown world, the Digital World during an experiment at Bill Cedar's lab. That one incident triggered a series of events which exposed a lot of people to Digimon, creatures with the ability to evolve on command (among other things).

With the help of the Digidestined, a powerful Digimon named Demon, who was threatening all 3 worlds (the Human World, the Digital World and the Poke-World), was destroyed in his own castle. And so peace reigned over the three worlds once again. But, who knows how long that peace will last. For wherever there is light, there must exist darkness…

-Pallet Town, Professor Oak's Laboratory-

Professor Samuel Oak and his assistant Tracey were taking a short break from taking care of all the Pokemon left with them by various trainers throughout the Kanto region. They were also trying to take in what had happened to their world over the course of the last few months.

"Things sure have been crazy the last few months, Professor," Tracey said.

"Yes. Those giant Digimon attacking the world, and being saved by humans from another world would certainly qualify as crazy."

"Do you think that Digimon will become more commonplace now?"

"I think it's inevitable that we're going to be seeing a lot more Digimon in the future, and we're going to have to adapt to not only the new level of power which will be exercised by the trainers, but the new level of potential danger we'll be living with every day."

Suddenly, a young man came through the door, trailed by 3 creatures, a yellow mouse with a zigzag tail, a black cat-looking creature, and a purple flying… pig.

Oak and Tracey got up and greeted the young man.

"Hello there. What can I do for you today?" Oak asked him.

"Hi, you must be Professor Oak."

"Yes. He's Professor Oak, and I'm Tracey, his assistant."

"My name is Kyle Evanick, and I'd like to leave someone in your care for awhile."

"Really? Who would that be?"

"That would be Absol," Kyle said motioning to the black creature behind him.

Kyle Evanick (not to be confused with Kyle Ellison), is a brown-hair, brown-eyed, 15 year-old Digidestined from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He used to have problems trusting himself and others. It's a very good thing for others around him that he met someone who helped him to loosen up and be able to trust people more.

"Why do you want to leave him here, Kyle?" Professor Oak asked.

"Well, I'm heading for the Hoenn region across the ocean and would like to have a little more room for catching new Pokemon over there."

"You're heading for Hoenn?" Tracey asked.

"That's right."

Kyle Evanick recently moved to New Bark Town in the Johto region after finding out that he could finish schooling there. But, mostly it was to qualify under the rule which allowed denizens of the Poke-World 1 year to begin their training career after they have a Trainer's License.

"I assume you are taking your Pikachu and your Digimon with you to Hoenn."

Tsukaimon smiled and said, "That's right! I would never be separated from my buddy!" Tsukaimon hugged Kyle's face to prove his point… only to be pried off his face minutes later.

Tracey's Green Tentomon came out of the bedroom looked right at Tsukaimon. "Why do you get to head to Hoenn, anyway? The Pokemon over there are supposed to be tough to beat…"

Tsukaimon tried to flex a little bit, but failed. "What can I say? I'm special, and I have a special Digidestined!"

"You can say that again, Tsukaimon." Kyle said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, sweatdropping all the while.

Suddenly, Tsukaimon and Kyle heard a voice in their heads, "Kyle! Can you hear me?"

Kyle knew immediately who was trying to talk to them, "Mewtwo? Is that you?"

"Yes. I've been doing some scrying and found out that the Digiports in Hoenn are all closed."

"So… what's your point?" Kyle asked.

"Because there will be a lack of the digital energy that your Digimon requires to survive, it will be in grave danger should you decide to go to Hoenn."

"Are you saying I can't go with Kyle?" Tsukaimon asked loudly.

"Unless you want to put yourself into a very bad situation, that's exactly what I'm saying." Mewtwo responded.

"Wait a minute… Is there anything you can do to activate the Digiports on that side?" Kyle asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm afraid not. We don't even know why they're acting up, but it's going to take some time before we'll be able to do anything about this."

Oak and Tracey were confused because it looked for a few moments like they were talking to themselves. However, Oak quickly realized that Mewtwo, one of the guardians of the Digital World, and a powerful psychic Pokemon, was talking with Kyle and Tsukaimon telepathically.

When Kyle and Tsukaimon looked back down a few moments later, Kyle said, "Professor, I have another favor to ask of you."

"Uh… sure. What would you like me to do?"

"Take care of Tsukaimon for me."

Professor Oak blinked and said, "Oh no… I'm not going to go through that again…"

"Relax, Professor, it's not like it's that much more difficult than taking care of a Pokemon. He just likes to wisecrack sometimes." Kyle responded in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

"Kyle, are you sure this is the only way things can be? Can't you put off your trip to Hoenn until later?" Tsukaimon asked in an almost begging voice.

"Look, Tsukaimon, if I don't go, I'll never become a great trainer."

Tsukaimon thought for a moment, and then asked, "Then why don't you stay here instead?"

"The Hoenn league is rumored to be the toughest one out there. If I want to the best, I have to beat the best."

Tsukaimon wanted to continue to argue, but he saw that he wasn't getting anywhere. "Fine, go Kyle." He said in a fake pout. He then perked up and said, "But be sure to bring me back a souvenir from Hoenn!"

Kyle smiled and said, "Deal."

He then turned his attention to Professor Oak. "Take good care of him, okay?"

Even though Oak was visibly showing signs of worry about having to take care of a Digimon like Tsukaimon, he assured Kyle that he would do his best to keep Tsukaimon out of trouble. Of course, Tsukaimon took offense at the remark.

Tentomon followed up the promise by saying, "And if nothing else, I can always get Tracey to help me keep control of the little guy." Tsukaimon responded to this with a glare.

Kyle waved goodbye to Tsukaimon and Absol as he went out the door, Noble on his shoulder.

Outside, Kyle decided to check his supplies one more time. He pulled the green backpack off his back and starting looking through it. Kyle wore a green t-shirt, grey shorts and a pair of white and blue sneakers.

"Pokeballs, check. Backpack, check. Snacks, ok. Books about pokemon, check. Potions, check. Camera, check. Looks like I'm ready to leave." Kyle said aloud to himself.

"You realize that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity right, Kyle?" Gary Oak's voice said behind him.

Kyle growled slightly. "Who asked you! Anyway, you'll probably be getting some email from my sister asking how I'm doing, I'm sure you can handle it Gary, as well as your girlfriend. See ya!"

Kyle ran off to the docks while Gary yelled at him. "Duplica isn't my... EVANICK! Get back here! You can't expect me to deal with your sister and Duplica! C'mon!"

Kyle went to Pallet Town Docks, paid for a ticket, and got on the ferry to Hoenn, even though he was aware it wasn't leaving for awhile.

Some other… uninvited guests boarded the ship at the same time. They jumped on top of the ship and laid low in the lifeboat until later…

-Meanwhile, outside Pallet Town-

"Remind me again, Casey, exactly why are we going to Pallet Town?" said a small bug-like creature which strangely resembled a Weedle.

Casey answered with a smile, "Simple, Kunemon. Since I missed the Johto League Silver Conference, I'm going to go sign up for the Indigo League. In order to do that, I need to go Professor Oak."

"Isn't there that… 1 year… thing stopping you from doing that?" Kunemon asked with a confused tone of voice.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Kunemon. I got permission from my parents before we left Mt. Silver. All I have to do is call her when I get to Oak's lab."

In an almost conspitorial tone, Kunemon asked, "What about Kyle?"

Casey thought on this for a minute and answered, "You know, I wish I knew where he was, but I'm sure to meet up with him again sooner or later, so I'm not too worried."

In a few minutes, they were at the famous Oak Laboratories, ready to register for the Indigo League. Casey Sparks is a purple-hair, green-eyed, 13 year-old Digidestined from New Bark Town. She could be considered a hothead, although that's being nice. She tends to think more with her heart than her head, which is fine some of the time. However, she does tend to have conflicts with other Digidestined because of her personality.

She wears an outfit remarkably like her old one, with an even greater affinity toward the colors of her favorite baseball team, the Electabuzz. She wore a yellow and black t-shirt, yellow shorts, yellow and black sneakers (which would remind you of May's from the R/S games), a yellow jacket with black stripes and a white baseball cap with black stripes and a lightning bolt on the front representing the Electabuzz.

She missed out on the Silver Conference because she was one of the Digidestined who fought against Demon and his forces. However, because of a rule in the League rulebook which allowed parents to give extensions to their children's Pokemon journey, Casey was about to get a second chance to make a first impression on the trainers of the world…

Casey opened the doors to the lab to find… something she didn't expect. Professor Oak, she expected. Tracey Sketchit… she knew that Oak had an assistant from the Orange Islands, so that wasn't surprising either. The green Tentomon was pretty well known by the other Destined, so that wasn't a big shock either. What was surprising was seeing Tsukaimon on top of Oak's computer.

"Get off there! My goodness, you're energetic, aren't you?" the Professor said.

Tsukaimon grinned widely. "What can I say? It was Kyle's loss that I couldn't come with him, so now I get to brighten your day!"

Professor Oak sweatdropped and says flatly, "Goody."

"This is incredible! Where did I put that sketch pad of mine?" Tracey began to run off to find it in another room.

Professor Oak notices this and yells, "Never mind that now, Tracey, help me out here!"

Tentomon sweatdropped and said, "I would get him down from there… if I didn't think I'd fry your computer in the process."

Casey and Kunemon stepped into the lab and found that Tsukaimon had been quite busy in his short time there. Papers were all over the floor, the computer was all messed up, and several small Pokemon were huddled in the corner, frightened by the sudden increase in activity in the lab.

"Tsukaimon!" Casey yelled.

Tsukaimon looked over and saw Casey and Kunemon, "Wow! Casey! Kunemon! Nice to see you!" Tsukaimon said as he flew over to them, much to the relief of Professor Oak.

After a moment, Casey asked in a questioning tone, "What are you doing here? Isn't Kyle with you?"

Tsukaimon responded in a sort of 'mock angry' tone, "Well, he WOULD be, if it weren't for the fact that Kyle has gone to Hoenn."

Casey thought, 'Kyle's in Hoenn? I wonder what he's doing there… Hey, wait a minute…'

"Tsukaimon, why does it matter whether Kyle's in Hoenn or not? Shouldn't you be with him regardless?" Kunemon asked suddenly.

Tsukaimon began to pout and said, "Well, Mewtwo came and told me and Kyle that I couldn't go because of the digiports not working in Hoenn and something about a lack of energy, or something like that."

"Really?" Casey asked in surprise.

"Really," Tsukaimon responded. "If you want to go after Kyle, now would be the time. The boat to Hoenn leaves in a little while."

Casey responded in a hopeful tone, "Kyle hasn't left yet?" After a few moments, Casey snapped her fingers and she said, "Then, Professor, I have a favor to ask of you."

Professor Oak quickly saw where this was going and said, "Oh no. Please don't tell me that you're going to leave your… Kunemon with me. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with Tsukaimon."

"Don't worry about Kunemon, he's a lot less… hyper than Tsukaimon. He shouldn't cause as much trouble." Tsukaimon glared at Casey for the remark, despite the fact that it was one hundred percent true.

"I'll take care of Kunemon for you, Casey." Tracey said suddenly.

Oak turned to Tracey and said, "What? Tracey? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, Professor. Tentomon and I can handle the little bugger easily, leaving you plenty of time to deal with Tsukaimon!"

The Professor thought about this for a minute, and then smiled. "Well, you can take care of Kunemon, then. If nothing else, it will make my job a little easier."

"Well, then, I'm off. Kunemon, make sure to keep Tsukaimon out of trouble!"

Tsukaimon thought, What did I do to deserve this reputation? I mean besides being hyper…

Casey left the lab and went south to Pallet Town Docks. She paid for a ticket and got on the boat with the intention of finding Kyle before they arrived in Hoenn tomorrow.

-Cinnabar Island-

It had been a couple of days since the final defeat of the mighty Demon. At the home of the most conflicted Digidestined, Josh Johannesen, he and his friend, Ryo Akiyama, were talking shop. Ryo's mother and father, as well as Ryo's aunt, Prima, was visiting from her nearby home, as well.

"I still can't believe that we pulled through." Josh said.

"Yeah. Skull Demon was our toughest foe yet." Ryo remarked.

The battle was long and hard for all the Digidestined, but even more so for Josh because during the campaign to defeat Demon, he had to defeat someone a little too close to home because of a trap set by another evil Digimon. Thankfully, with the support of the other Digidestined, they pulled through.

Noriko, Ryo's mother, came into the room and looked at Josh. "So… what are you going to do now?"

"Well, for one, I'm going to get into my traveling outfit. And two, I'm going to strike out on my own."

Prima asked, "Where are you going?"

"Don't give me that, Prima. I know that certain Digimon," Josh looked in the direction of the guest room where Agumon was, "have already told you where I was going. The thing was, I was being a little deceptive."

It was Ryo's turn to look at Josh strangely, "What do you mean?"

Josh grinned and replied, "I told Agumon a list of places I'd like to travel to in this world. And while I wasn't being deceptive in that I would like to visit all these places someday, I was being deceptive in that I will obviously only visit one location now."

Josh thought to himself, I need some time away from Digimon in order to calm my mind after the events of the last month, and what better place to go than Hoenn? A place where there were rumored to be no Digimon attacks at all…

Ryo looked at Josh, "Where are you going exactly? Hoenn?"

Josh looked at Ryo suddenly, "Y… Yes. But, how did you know that?"

Ryo shrugged and said, "Lucky guess, I suppose."

"Could it be the fact that you've never been to Hoenn, yourself, Ryo?" Daigoro, Ryo's father, asked out of curiosity from the kitchen.

Ryo blinked, and then he blushed a bit. "Well…"

Josh looked surprised for a moment, "You've never been to Hoenn?"

Ryo uncharacteristically yelled, "Hey, I may be the singles battle champion of Kanto and Johto, but that doesn't mean I've been off this continent!"

"Hey, chill out, Ryo." Josh turned to his mom. "I'm going to go change." Gail nodded as he went back to his room.

-A few minutes later…-

Josh came out of his bedroom decked out in his new outfit. He wore a red t-shirt with an unzipped hooded sweatshirt jacket in his arm, ready to go into his blue backpack. He had black fingerless gloves, dark blue jeans and black sneakers. And to top it off, he wore a hat that could have passed for T.K.'s any day, a white bucket hat.

Josh is a brown-hair, brown-eyed, 19 year old Digidestined originally from Southern California. He always had trouble making friends, and even trusting people he did not know at all. And while this may sound like Kyle Evanick's carbon copy, Josh never had a problem trusting himself until very recently, when an incident with a powerful evil Digimon occurred. Even then, two of the Digidestined helped him through it. He and his family now live in a house near Ryo Akiyama on Cinnabar Island.

"Well, Josh, you look nice in your outfit." Gail, his mother said. "But, the question is… how do you feel in it?"

Josh walked around and smiled, "It's nice, Mom. It's comfortable, and I think it will last a long time."

Gail smiled gently and replied, "Good. Glad to hear it."

"Hey Mom, why does Josh get to go to Hoenn by himself? Why can't I go too?" Josh's brother Jake asked in a jealous tone.

Gail answered in a courteous tone, "Well, Jake, you've still got school to complete, as does Kristen. Once we get comfortable and things are back to 'normal', maybe I'll take you somewhere and get your trainer's license."

Josh grinned and unclipped a Poke Ball off of his belt. "Besides, neither you or Kristen has a Pokemon to begin with." Jake scoffed at the facts and Josh just chuckled as he re-clipped the Poke Ball back onto his belt.

Ryo asked, "Speaking of which, Josh, are you sure you want to do this now?"

Josh thought about this for a minute and replied with a grin, "Well, I've been here in this world for about a month. And while I don't think I know everything, I do know that if I want to truly get acclimated, I'm going to have to strike out on my own."

Ryo sighed in a defeated tone, "I see. I also see the fire in your eyes, telling me that you're not going to be deterred no matter how much we try to talk you out of it. Just… be careful over there, okay Josh?"

Josh gave Ryo a thumbs-up. "You can count on it!"

Agumon, Josh's Digimon, came out of his bedroom. "Josh, make sure you come back!"

Josh grinned and nodded. "Sure thing, Agumon! Make sure to keep my family safe while I'm gone!"

Agumon replied, "I'll have Socramon to help me with that!" Socramon appeared behind Jake suddenly and said simply, "Good luck, Josh."

And with that, Josh stepped out the door. Ryo, his family, Prima and Josh's family waved good-bye as Josh went to the Pokemon Center.

Before Josh stepped through the portal, Josh wrote an e-mail to someone who had helped him through his problems just a couple of weeks earlier…

-Stone Town, Ellison Household-

Things were hectic since things had gotten back to normal, or at least what passed for normal in this world. June Motomiya had "eloped" with Kyle Ellison, heading off on a Pokemon journey together. Mikhail Ellison was helping out Tai and his parents, and Kari was off in another room by herself for now. Suddenly, her D-terminal went off.

Kari blinked and observed, "Hmm… someone must be sent me something."

She was surprised to find out that Josh had sent her some mail. She was even more surprised to find out what was written in the mail.

"Kari, I had to mail you before I left. You've helped me in so many ways in the short time we've known each other. If it wasn't for you, Gatomon and Izzy, I would have surely done something that I would have regretted later.

"Because of you, I feel that with time, I'll be able to trust people again. And not just people who I know well, like you two; but also people who seem to have good hearts, as well. Unfortunately, I must spend that time alone in a far away place, the Hoenn region.

"I would have been more than happy to stay longer in Kanto with all of you, but the truth of the matter is that I need some time away from the Digimon to refresh my mind, especially after… well, you know.

"I won't soon forget you, Gatomon and Izzy and how much you have changed me. Before I leave, I must thank you for your help from the bottom of my heart. And even though I may never truly know why you and the other Digidestined helped me and my family, I do know one thing for sure. Because of you, I can finally say I truly have some friends. Thank you. Josh"

Knowing Josh fairly well, this course of action surprised Kari to an extent, considering that it seemingly came out of the blue, but she knew him well enough to leave him alone. She also knew that, at least for now, it would be best to keep this secret from everyone… except maybe for Izzy, of course.

-Pallet Town Docks-

Josh stepped onto the docks and saw the enormous boat to Hoenn. It was about the size of 2 large houses and white in color. It also has a lot of windows peering out onto the ocean.

Josh walked up to the ticket booth and bought a ticket. He showed it to the ticket taker and got onto the boat. He then decided that, for tonight, he would stay at the back of the boat. In the morning, he would make his move for the front of the boat to be one of the first off the boat. Josh got comfortable and decided to create his "game plan" on what he would do once he got to Hoenn.

-15 Minutes Later, Cinnabar Island-

Ryo was preparing to go back to school in a few days by catching up on some reading in the family room. However, a very important message came at that moment.

"Ryo, can you hear me?" a mysterious voice rang in Ryo's head.

Ryo looked up toward the ceiling before responding, "Mewtwo, is that you?"

Mewtwo's voice rang out again, "Yes. Now, listen carefully, I want you to do some investigation work for me."

"What's going on, Mewtwo?" Ryo asked in a concerned tone.

"You see, for some reason, the digiports in a region across the ocean, known as Hoenn, have gone out of order and don't work anymore."

Ryo blinked and asked, "Do you think someone from the Digital World is behind this?"

Mewtwo shook his head in his far-away location and answered, "We can't be sure at this point, but I would appreciate it if you would go to Hoenn and investigate yourself."

After a few moments of thought, Ryo asked, "Why don't you send Kyle Ellison? He has more digital Pokemon in case something happens."

"Well… June isn't letting Kyle out of her sights. Besides, the two of them are on a Pokemon journey now, and with only her original Pokemon and Elecmon…"

Ryo sighed, "It would be putting Elecmon in danger."

Mewtwo nodded. "Exactly, Ryo." After a moment, he added, "Besides, Davis would be awful angry if I took June out of her reach along with Kyle." Ryo chuckled and Mewtwo finished, "Now, I hope it's not too much trouble…"

Ryo sighed before responding, "Fine. I'm on my way."

Ryo suddenly got up, much to the surprise of Prima. "What's wrong, Ryo? You don't look too happy about something."

Ryo sighed and answered, "Aunt Prima, I've got to go to Hoenn to help Mewtwo out."

Prima blinked and tilted her head. "And why would that have you bummed out, exactly?"

Ryo observed, "Because school comes back into session in a few days, and I don't want to miss time if I don't have to. Besides, I'll get in big trouble if I go."

Prima gently smiled and responded, "Relax, Ryo. I'll take care of the league. You just get ready to leave."

Ryo blinked in surprise once more. "Are you sure, Aunt Prima?"

Prima nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Now go get ready to leave before that boat does."

-5 minutes later-

Ryo came out of his bedroom decked out in his traveling outfit. He wore a grey long-sleeved shirt, a brown "skirt-looking thing" (ed- I don't know what it's called!), with a black belt and gold buckle on which his two Poke Balls were set. He wore dark green pants, red and white sneakers and brown gloves. Finally, he had tied a red bandanna around his neck and wore a red backpack.

Ryo Akiyama is a brown-hair, blue-eyed 14 year-old Digidestined who lives on Cinnabar Island. He was the first Pokemon Trainer to encounter a Digimon 4 years earlier. Since then, he has helped out the former Digimon Emperor, Ken to defeat Milleniumon and has become Solo Battle champion of the Johto and Kanto Leagues. It doesn't hurt that he is nephew to Prima, also known as Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four. He is a very easygoing trainer who enjoys other people's company.

"Which two Pokemon are you taking with you, Ryo?" Prima asked.

Ryo grinned and said, "I'm obviously taking Charmeleon. He is my most powerful Pokemon, even if he is part Digimon. And I'm also taking Swinub with me."

Prima nodded in approval. "Ah, you're going to train it in Hoenn, Ryo?"

Ryo smiled. "True. Now, I'd better get going before that boat leaves."

As Ryo started for the door, Prima stopped him. "Wait a minute, Ryo… what about Caryl?"

Ryo blinked, not having thought of this for a minute. Eventually, he chose to say, "Oh… well, I think she's going back to school, like I was. Besides, I don't want to worry her while I'm in Hoenn."

Prima smiled and said, "Well, come back safely."

Ryo gave a confident grin and said, "Don't worry, Aunt Prima. I'll be fine."

With that, Ryo left and went to the Digiport in the Pokemon center.

-Pallet Town Docks-

Ryo arrived at the docks and quickly purchased a ticket. He bought the ticket just in time… to watch the boat begin to leave port.

"Oh, I guess you missed today's boat." The ticket person said, stating the obvious.

Ryo looked at the boat and yelled, "Dang it!" very angrily.

"Well, I guess I can give you a ticket for tomorrow's ferry to Hoenn…" the ticket person suggested immediately.

After a few moments of thought, Ryo grinned and answered, "No, I'll take this one, thanks."

The boat person blinked and said suddenly, "But, sir…"

Ryo's grin continued as he said, "Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing." Ryo said as he took the ticket out of the ticket person's hand with his left hand, and grabbed a Poke Ball in his other.

"Go, Charmeleon!" he yelled as he threw out the Poke Ball.

A blinding light soon formed into the familiar form of the orange fire-lizard, Charmeleon.

Charmeleon looked a little bit surprised to not be faced with another Pokemon, but he asked, "Ryo, do you need my help?"

Ryo nodded and pointed out toward the water, "Yeah, look."

Charmeleon saw the boat leaving port and quickly got Ryo's gist. He gave Ryo a nod to indicate they were on the same page. Then, Ryo pulled out his digivice and commanded for Charmeleon to digivolve.

"Charmeleon digivolve to… Charizard!"

Suddenly, the orange lizard standing before Ryo and the ticket person one second became the terrifying fire dragon Charizard the next.

Ryo climbed onto Charizard's back and he flew into the air.

On the ship, the crew members were ready for lots of things. You have to be when you make your living on the high sea. However, one thing they weren't ready for was a Charizard swooping down from the sky on the ship. The 20 or so crew members on deck dived onto the ground as Charizard swooped down and then landed on the ship.

After Charizard dedigivolved back to Charmeleon, Ryo recalled him.

Suddenly, Ryo found himself surrounded by the 20 crew members on board. They obviously weren't too thrilled with having to deal with a swooping Charizard.

One of the crew members said, "Hello, mate," in a menacing sort of tone.

Ryo was apprehensive, not wanting to bring out Charmeleon again unless he had to, especially 20 on 1.

"Now, normally, we'd throw someone like you overboard…" another sailor said.

Ryo gulped at the thought of having to swim back to Pallet.

A third sailor observed, "However, we know that even if we did, you'd just release that Charizard again and come back aboard, and then we'd throw you overboard, and then you'd come back, in an endless cycle until we got to Littleroot Town."

Ryo sighed at not having to worry about being thrown overboard.

The first sailor simply said, "Instead, just show us your ticket, or we'll throw you in the brig below ship."

Ryo nodded rapidly. "Sure, let me get it."

Ryo fiddled inside his pockets for a moment, but came up with the ticket.

"Here you go, gentlemen," showing the ticket to the sailors.

The crew members looked at the ticket and accepted it from him. "Fine, you can go below deck, if you wish. That's where many of the trainers are gathering."

"Thanks a lot!" Ryo ran below deck at the earliest opportunity.

"Wow that was a strange Pokemon he had." One of the sailors observed.

"Yeah. Looked like it devolved as it landed on deck…" Another said as the conversation continued.

-Inside the Hoenn Ship-

Kyle Evanick continued to wander the ship, making small talk with the many trainers aboard the ship. It was sort of uncomfortable for him to be around so many people, but he knew that if he could make it through tonight, he would be in Littleroot Town tomorrow.

However, someone else was making plans for Kyle…

A girl with long red hair popped out from behind a set of crates, "There he is."

A boy with short purple hair popped out next to her, "The kid with the Absol."

A cat-like creature popped out next to the boy, "We should get him now!"

A blue creature popped out next to the girl, "Wobbuffet!"

"Wait a minute, Meowth." The girl said.

The boy turned to the girl and asked in a calm tone, "What are we waiting for, Jess? The longer we wait, the bigger the chance that we'll screw this up."

Jessie turned to the boy and answered, "James, there's lots of strong trainers on this ship, right?"

"Yeah…" James replied in a tone which indicated he had no idea where Jessie was going with this.

Jessie observed, "If we attack now, there's a good chance that we're going to fail only because we'll be overwhelmed by the number of trainers."

Meowth turned to Jessie and asked in a slightly louder tone, "So what do ya suppose we do instead? Let him get away?"

Jessie nodded, "For now. But tomorrow…"

Jessie whispered something in both Meowth's and James's ears. Whatever Jessie said met with approval from James and Meowth. They shared a smile before diving back behind the crates.

-Meanwhile…-

Casey continued to explore the ship, looking for Kyle. She was determined to find her boyfriend among the numerous trainers on the ship.

Josh sat in a room at the back of the ship, contemplating on what he should do once he gets to Littleroot Town in the morning.

Ryo searched the ship for Josh, hoping to team up with him, on the grounds that they both knew each other pretty well. After all, they had been living together for about a month prior to this.

It took Ryo awhile to finally find the room in which Josh was staying the night… all the way at the back of the ship. When Ryo finally found him, Josh had his eyes closed sitting up. Josh was still trying to figure out the best way to cross Hoenn while still challenging all eight Gym Leaders.

"Josh!" Ryo yelled.

Josh opened his eyes and appeared startled (because he was). It took Josh a moment to see Ryo inside the door frame.

When Josh finally did see Ryo, he blinked. "Ryo! What are you doing here? I thought you had school to go back to…"

Ryo nodded and said, "Well, that's true. But, I got a message from Mewtwo telling me to investigate something in Hoenn."

Josh blinked once more. Concern was evident in Josh's voice when he asked, "Why? What's going on?"

Ryo explained to Josh about how the digiports in Hoenn were all out of order and how Digimon couldn't survive over there without them. Josh looked perplexed at this revelation.

"I guess it's a good thing I left Agumon at home."

"True. He'd be in dire straits if he came with you."

Josh thought of something… "Ryo, did you at least contact Caryl to let her know where you were going before coming on this boat?"

Ryo shook his head. "No. She's going back to school, and I do not want her to worry about me while I travel with you in Hoenn."

Josh thought to himself, If Caryl ever finds out, there'll be heck to pay. I haven't been around her and Ryo long, but I do know that much…

Josh continued, "Well, are you going over there just to investigate?"

Ryo hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Actually, no. Since Aunt Prima got me out of school for awhile, I figure I'm going to take advantage of the situation and enter the Hoenn League myself."

Josh grinned after a few moments and asked excitedly, "Does that mean we're going to travel together?"

Ryo nodded and smiled. "Yes. You and I are going to be together for a long time to come. Who knows? I might even be able to teach you how to trust humans again."

Josh couldn't help but chuckle and answer, "… Well, you're free to try, Ryo."

Josh thought to himself, When I wanted to go on this journey I wanted to be alone. But now, I'm glad that Ryo showed up. I can still be in control of my own destiny, but now I'm traveling with one of my friends. And after all, who could ask for a better ally?

Ryo thought, I still think Josh is being too stubborn, but at least now I'll be able to help him in his first journey as a Pokemon trainer. I can also get back to basics myself. It's been awhile since I've traveled anywhere for a long amount of time.

-That night…-

The trainers aboard the ship dreamed of glory in the Hoenn league, or were dreaming of going home to Hoenn after a long trip in Kanto or Johto. Team Rocket dreamed of catching Kyle Evanick's Absol. Casey dreamed of finding Kyle. Josh, Kyle and Ryo all dreamed of their potential glory waiting for them in the Hoenn league. And all the while, they were approaching their common destination… a new adventure.

-Next morning, Cinnabar Island-

Contrary to Ryo's beliefs, Caryl was in the middle of her big vacation, which went through the end of January. She had decided previously to go to Ryo's home on this morning in order to visit her boyfriend…

She knocked on the door, and found Noriko answering the door.

Noriko blinked and asked confusingly, "Hello, Caryl. What are you doing here?"

Caryl gave one of her innocent smiles and replied in a cheery tone, "Hi, Mrs. Akiyama, can I see Ryo?"

Noriko sighed and answered, "I'm sorry, but he isn't here."

It was Caryl's turn to be confused. She tilted her head and asked, "What do you mean?"

Noriko shook her head. "Go ask Prima. I don't know anything about it."

Caryl then went to Prima's house and knocked on the door. Not surprisingly, Prima answered the door.

Prima smiled gently and said innocently, "Hi, Caryl."

Caryl blinked and said, "Hi, Prima. Do you know where Ryo is?"

Prima's innocent façade continued as she replied, "Of course I do, he's off on an adventure because Mewtwo asked him to."

"Where is he?" Caryl said is a tone of voice which indicated she still wanted to surprise him.

Prima's smile turned into an outright grin. "He's gone to Hoenn, far across the ocean to the west."

Caryl was surprised to hear this, and then, in an emotional outburst, screamed, "RYO!"

-Boat-

Ryo woke up suddenly. Josh had been awake for awhile, anticipating landing at port.

"Josh, did you hear something just now?"

Josh looked at Ryo strangely, "Nope. I didn't hear anything."

-Cinnabar Island-

Caryl stormed off from Prima's house. Prima just giggled at the thought of what would happen to Ryo if Caryl ever caught up…

Caryl thought to herself, Grrr… that Ryo! I'll surprise him yet. I'll just go home and get a few things for the rest of my vacation, than we'll see what happens…

Narrator: And so, Ryo and Josh wait anxiously to arrive at Littleroot Town. Kyle Evanick sits and waits for landfall and Casey just wants to find her boyfriend. They're all heading for new adventures and new dangers in the Hoenn region!

Next time:

Josh and Ryo arrive in Littleroot Town to look for registration. Team Rocket looks for Kyle Evanick and his Absol. And Casey looks for Kyle. Will they find what they're looking for? Or will there be other surprises in store? Find out next time!


	2. Ep 2: The Rocket's Ambitions

Digicross Advanced Episode 2: "The Rocket's Ambitions"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

-Boat near Littleroot Town-

For the trainers aboard the ship, the time was drawing close to when they would pull into Littleroot Town, the smallest city in Hoenn, and home to the famous Professor Birch.

However, for four trainers, things were going to get a little "nuts" for a moment.

Suddenly, Kyle's, Casey's, Ryo's and Josh's digivices went crazy, making all sorts of sounds. Fortunately, the noise was drowned out by the constant noise produced by the other trainers.

Kyle wondered, 'Why is my digivice doing this?'

Casey thought, 'What is this thing going to do?'

Ryo thought, 'I wonder if it has to do with what Mewtwo said?'

Josh thought, 'What's going to happen?'

The devices made noises for several more seconds, then suddenly turned off and the screen on each went black.

Josh asked Ryo, "Do you think that has something to do with what you're investigating?"

"Quite possibly, Josh."

-10 minutes later, Littleroot Docks-

The intercom on the ship came on and stated, "We have arrived at Littleroot Docks. Any passengers wanting to enter Littleroot Town will want to take a left at the first road. Anyone wishing to continue to Oldale Town should keep on the main road. It will merge with Route 101 just north of town."

Up top, Team Rocket jumped ship and landed in a tree. They jumped from tree to tree until they were positioned over the route into Littleroot Town.

"We're all set, Jessie." James said to his counterpart.

"When that twerp with the Absol comes through here, we'll have a big surprise for him."

As Jessie said this, she and the other members of Team Rocket readied a net.

"And we'll be the ones having a net gain!"

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Back aboard the ship, the doors opened, and trainers flew out the entrance. Josh made sure he was among the first out of the ship. Ryo was not too far behind.

"Hey, Josh! Wait up!"

Josh looked back and saw Ryo was a little behind. He waited a moment for his friend. "Sorry, Ryo. I'm just so anxious to get started."

They started to walk in the direction of Littleroot Town. "That's fine, Josh. I know how it is. But, at least you could wait for me a minute."

The two of them walked under a shaded path into Littleroot Town.

Right above them, Team Rocket was observing them. "Is one of those people the twerps were after?"

"No, I don't think so, Jimmy."

"We didn't get a real good look at his face, but I think I know enough to say that neither of these two has that Absol."

"Whatever you say, Jess."

Suddenly, Josh stopped and asked, "Hey, Ryo. Did you hear something just now?"

Team Rocket suddenly gasped as they thought they had been discovered.

"No, I don't think I heard anything. It is a little windy out, though. Maybe it's just the wind."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's not like someone is waiting above us waiting to trap us or something."

Ryo and Josh walked on to the relief of Team Rocket.

Soon, they were in front of the largest building in Littleroot Town, Birch Labs. They walked in to find a person wearing a blue shirt, beige shorts, and sandals and carried a large bag slung over one shoulder. In fact, if he didn't wear a lab coat, these two would have thought it was another trainer.

"What can I do for you two today?"

Ryo observed, "You must be Professor Birch."

"That's correct."

Josh spoke up in an excited tone, "Can we get registered for the Hoenn League here?"

"Absolutely."

Professor Birch fired up a nearby computer and pointed to Josh, "Tell me your name and hometown."

"I'm Josh Johannesen from Cinnabar Island."

Birch typed in some information and up came Josh's profile. "It says here that you got your trainer's license not too long ago in Pallet, but never entered the Indigo League. Hmmm… it also says that you have a Treecko, correct?"

"That's right, Professor."

"Can I see it for a moment?"

"Sure." Josh grabbed the Poke Ball off his belt, and threw it. In a blinding light, a small green lizard stood before them.

"Treecko."

Birch studied Treecko for a few moments. Afterwards, he was clearly happy. "You did a good job of taking care of Treecko. I think you should keep him."

Josh was surprised by this statement as a whole. "What did you say?"

"Look, I know that 3 of my starters were swept up in some sort of portal last month. I was also told by some… purple cat looking thing that these Pokemon were now in the hands of three capable… what did he call them… Digidestined, I think. And, now I see that guy was right."

Josh and Ryo were, to say the least, surprised Birch knew what was going on. Josh said, "Thank you very much, Professor."

Josh recalled Blade, Josh's nickname for Treecko, into his Poke Ball.

Then, Birch pointed at Ryo. "What's your name and hometown?"

"I'm Ryo Akiyama from Cinnabar Island."

"Both of you from the same place, eh? Are you two friends?"

Josh responded with a smile, "Yes, we are."

Ryo smiled back at him as Birch pulled up the record of Ryo. "Wow. It says here you're the Solo Battle Champion of the Johto League. I guess I don't need to help you at all. Now, it says your favorite Pokemon is Charmeleon. Did you bring him with you?"

"Yes. Would you like to see him?"

"Sure."

Ryo unclipped Charmeleon's Poke Ball from his belt and threw him out. Birch observed him for a few minutes, although Charmeleon was less thrilled with it than Treecko was.

"Don't get too close, bub. Otherwise, I'm going to have to torch you."

Birch would have been surprised at the fact that Charmeleon talks, but he read the entire file on Ryo and found out that fact on his own. "All right. I just wanted to get a look at you for a moment. I'll finish registering you both, and I'll also tell Josh about how things work in the Hoenn League."

-Meanwhile…-

Outside, trainers were still getting off the ship and heading into Hoenn. About this time, Kyle Evanick stepped off the ship and began to follow the path into Littleroot Town. He got into the outskirts of town where Birch's lab was before he heard laughter coming from seemingly nowhere. Suddenly, a net fell on him from above.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

"Prepare for trouble, you're caught in our net!"

"And make it double, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobba! Wobba!"

Kyle thought for a moment, and said, "I think I've heard of you before. Aren't you those people who are always after Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu?"

Needless to say, Team Rocket was rather stunned that anyone had heard of them because they had never managed to catch Pikachu. Still, they had to think that their fame was spreading somehow.

Jessie was the first to speak up. "Well, you're half right, kid. We used to be after the twerp known as Ash and his Pikachu."

James said, "But, recently, the twerp had to go back to school. Then they put Pikachu into some sort of protective custody."

"Now getting at dat Pikachu is harder than me resisting catnip!"

-Flashback to their first few attempts at getting Pikachu…-

Team Rocket tries to grab Pikachu through the gates when he gets close, only to find out that the gate is electric and very potent. They end up blasting off…

"Sure, at first, we thought we were up for the challenge…" Meowth said.

Team Rocket tries to use a rubber glove to go through the gates, only to have Wobbuffet come out and a noise sensor go off, setting off a trap which flings them into the sky…

"But, as we tried, we found out that no matter what happened…"

Team Rocket tries to come in from the top using their balloon, only to get it popped by another trap…

"We couldn't even get close to Pikachu!"

Team Rocket now looks very depressed walking north toward Viridian City.

James said, "We were depressed beyond what we thought was possible. We didn't have anything to show the Boss, and no way to get to Pikachu."

"We thought is was all over for us, until we saw our ray of hope," Jessie said.

Team Rocket's faces look quite thrilled. They see Kyle running toward Pallet. The only thing unusual is that Absol is running alongside him.

"We knew that if we could get your Absol, then we would be right back on top!"

"And then we could use it to try and steal many more Pokemon with its dark powers!" James observed.

-Back to reality…-

"So hand over dat… Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Kyle had taken advantage of the "flashback" to get himself free from the net. However, there wasn't enough time to get completely away.

"How dare you break free of our trap while we reminisce!" Jessie yelled.

"It's not like it was that hard. It wasn't even weighed down…"

"We don't have a lot of money right now. We couldn't afford weights!" James retorted.

"Just hand over Absol and we'll forgive this."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Absol isn't with me anymore."

All three of them screamed at the same time, "WHAT?!"

"He's with Professor Oak and Tracy in Pallet Town."

"So you mean we came all the way out here for NOTHING?!" Jessie yelled.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you came here, now is it?"

Team Rocket looked positively enraged by this turn of events.

Jessie yelled, "We won't be made fools of. Let's battle!" She pulled off a Poke Ball. "Go, Arbok!"

James also pulled off a Poke Ball. "Do it, Weezing!"

Simultaneously, a purple cobra, "Charrrbok!" and a set of purple floating gas balls appeared before Kyle, "Weezing!"

Kyle pulled out 2 Poke Balls. "Go, Toaster and Noble!"

A small orange bird appeared in a flash. "Torchic!" Additionally, so did a small yellow mouse. "Pika!"

Team Rocket again yelled in tandem, "He's got a Pikachu too?!"

James observed, "We shouldn't let that get in our way."

"Of course. You're right, James. Go, Arbok! Use your Poison Sting!"

Arbok reared up and launched while "needles" from its mouth at Pikachu. She, of course, dodged them with little problem.

James was next "to bat". "Weezing, use your Sludge attack!"

Weezing launched a large amount of black liquid from its mouth, aimed at Torchic. As before, it dodged the attack easily.

Now, it was time for Kyle to counter. "Noble, use Thundershock!"

"Pika… chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!" The Thundershock hit Weezing. Unfortunately, after dealing with Ash's Pikachu's Thunderbolt, this attack did little damage.

"Toaster, use Ember on Arbok!"

Jessie countered, "Arbok, dig underground to avoid that Ember!"

Torchic launched red "bubbles" at Arbok, and it dug underground at the last second to avoid the attack. Then to make matters worse, it came up underneath Torchic and was able to launch a surprise attack.

Just as the attack was getting over, another voice yelled out over the horizon. "Kyle! Are you okay?"

Everyone looked back, Kyle around the other Pokemon, and Casey was standing there on the path.

Kyle was, needless to say, quite surprised. "Casey?!"

Team Rocket, was less than pleased with this. "It's that brat that hung out with the twerp!" James said.

As Casey came around the battlefield, Kyle asked, "You were with Ash Ketchum?"

"A couple of times… but he's nowhere near as good as you, Kyle."

Kyle facefaulted, as did Team Rocket.

Jessie then said, "Hey, brat, we have some unfinished business with your boyfriend," the comment making both Kyle and Casey blush a little, "so if you could excuse us…"

"What's wrong with me joining this battle?" Before anyone could answer, Casey pulled out 2 Poke Balls and called out, "Go Meganium and Aquaris!"

A small blue creature with a fin, "Mudkip!" and a large green creature with a flower on its neck came out at the same time, "Meganium!"

Jessie then pushed Wobbuffet out onto the field. Wobbuffet was reluctant to get out there, but was finally in the battle.

Meantime, James grabbed Meowth. "Hey, what are you doing, Jim?"

"Come on, if we want their Pokemon, then we all need to make sacrifices, so…" as James threw Meowth, "GET GOING!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Casey commanded Meganium to use its Razor Leaf. Unfortunately, Jessie told Wobbuffet to use Mirror Coat, and it deflected the attack back at Meganium.

"Aquaris, use Water Gun on Meowth!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Meowth still had an extreme hate for water, which caused it to run from the attack, only to get pummeled by it anyway…

"Youse'll pay for getting my fur all wet!"

Back inside the lab, Josh and Ryo were all finished with the registration process. Josh even received 5 Poke Balls in addition to a Pokedex. Ryo just received the Pokedex upgrade on top of the one he already had.

Josh observed, "It looks like there is a long road ahead for me and Ryo, Professor."

"True. But if you can bond with other Pokemon as well as you have Treecko, then you may have a chance at getting to the League Championships."

"Yeah, Josh. At least there is one upside. Because I deal in Solo Battles, we won't have to face each other, except for friendly bouts, of course."

Josh and Ryo walked to the door, and Josh called out, "Thanks a lot, Professor!"

However, they both stopped short and saw the battle raging outside the lab. Josh called over Birch as he pulled out Pokedex and scanned the participants…

"Meganium, the Herb Pokemon. This Pokemon's flower is known to be able to calm aggressive foes from its aroma alone."

"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon. The fin on this Pokemon's head helps it to navigate underwater."

"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. These Pokemon have much electricity in their cheeks. It is possible to get over or undercharged."

"Torchic, the Chick Pokemon. This Pokemon is known to maintain an internal temperature of 4,000 degrees F. They can burn you playfully if you're not careful."

"Arbok, the Cobra Pokemon. The markings on this Pokemon are known to intimidate foes into submission. They are only visible when the Pokemon is reared up."

"Weezing, the Poison Gas Pokemon. This Pokemon's gases are very volatile, so use caution when in extreme heat."

"Wobbuffet, the Patient Pokemon. These Pokemon do not attack their opponents until they are assaulted themselves. Their tails are known to be able to trap Pokemon in battle."

"Meowth, the Cat Pokemon. This Pokemon loves shiny things. If it loses the charm on its head, it will search continuously for a new one."

With view of the humans involved obscured, Josh thought that it would be possible that they would have to go 8-on-2, which wasn't pretty. Ryo was wondering what was going on, and Birch wasn't thrilled that a battle this large was going outside his doors.

"That's the biggest battle I've ever seen between Pokemon." Josh observed.

Birch said, "We don't normally get battles this big out here."

Birch had his own thoughts about why such a big battle would come all the way out into the rural areas of Hoenn. 'I wonder if Team Magma or Team Aqua is involved…'

Charmeleon was excited about the prospect of a battle this large. "Come on, Ryo! Let's go! I'll take them all!"

"Hang on, buddy! We're not even sure you're going to be able to digivolve in this region because my digivice is no longer working."

Birch would have inquired about what he meant, but that was the least of his concerns right now. Josh was looking positively frightened.

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

Ryo looked at Josh and saw the same reaction. "You don't want to go out there, do you?"

"Of course I don't! It could be an 8-on-2 if we do, and if we just stay put, we could have to face the survivors! I don't want to put Blade in danger, Ryo!"

Birch went to the back of the lab. "Josh, I may have a solution for you…"

Both Josh and Ryo looked back as Birch pressed a button to reveal a secret door in the back of the lab.

"Josh, use this doorway. I prepared it for just such an emergency."

"Really?"

"Yes. I knew there might be a time when I would need to get out to avoid unnecessary combat. When you go through the door, you will be on a secluded path which will eventually meet up with the main one toward Oldale Town."

"Ryo, what are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to stay here and wait things out. Besides, Charmeleon would kill me if he didn't get the chance to show off his muscle." As Ryo said this, Charmeleon mockingly flexed his muscles.

"All right. I'll just get going then."

As Josh started to walk out, the Professor stopped him for a moment.

"Josh, once you get to Oldale Town, it would be a smart idea to continue west to Petalburg City. There, you might be able to find someone who would be willing to help you until you get your "legs" so to speak, or until Ryo can catch up."

"Fair enough." Josh turned to Ryo, "Did you hear that?"

"Yes. So should we meet in Petalburg City?"

"Sure. I'll wait for you a couple of days in Petalburg. After that, I may move on."

"Okay. I'll see you in Petalburg, than."

And as Josh walked out, he called to Ryo, "Hey, be careful, would ya?"

Ryo gave Josh a thumbs-up, "Don't worry about me. And be careful yourself, okay? Your mom will kill me if something happens to you."

Josh smiled. "Will do. See ya!"

Josh ran out the door toward Oldale Town.

-Back on the battlefield…-

Kyle called out, "Noble, Thundershock! Toaster, Ember!"

Casey yelled, "Meganium, Razor Leaf! Aquaris, Water Gun!"

The four attacks launched at the same time, combining into a very large attack. Team Rocket screamed before a large explosion occurred…

"The twerps are different…" Jessie said

"But the result remains the same." James lamented.

They all yelled, "We're blasting off again!"

And as they went further away, you could hear, "Wobbbuh!!"

Back on the ground, Kyle and Casey were celebrating their victory with their Pokemon.

"Noble, Toaster, you guys did a great job!" Kyle said as he hugged the two Pokemon.

"Pika! Pika!"

"Torchic!"

"Aquaris, Meganium, you two did great too!"

"Mud, mudkip!"

"Meganium!"

Inside the lab, Ryo suddenly recognized the 2 people involved in the battle. "It's Kyle and Casey!"

Ryo ran out and greeted the two trainers. Needless to say, they were both shocked to find Ryo in Hoenn.

Kyle asked, "What are you doing here, Ryo?"

"I was asked by Mewtwo to investigate why Digimon can't be here in Hoenn."

"Oh, I see."

Ryo asked, "And what are you two doing here?"

Casey responded, "What else? Compete in the Hoenn league and get some time together."

Kyle glanced at Casey for a second before suggesting that the three of them enter the lab so that they can get registered.

"Well, hello there. Are you here to register as trainers?"

Kyle was a little surprised at the immediate assumption by Birch, but not too much so. "Well, yeah."

"Okay…" The system was already active, so bringing back up the registration program was not a long process.

Birch pointed at Kyle, "Your name and hometown, please."

"Kyle Evanick from…"

"New Bark Town!" Casey interjected loudly. This was where Kyle Evanick lived now, of course, but it wasn't the initial information given.

Birch entered the information and found no record of him. "According to this, you don't have your trainer's license yet."

"I do have it." Kyle found his wallet and pulled out his trainer's license. The hometown was listed as N/A, seeing as they hadn't heard of Lansdale in the Poke-World.

Birch immediately inquired, "Are you one of the Digidestined?"

Kyle nodded, and Birch immediately told him, "Don't worry. You're not the only Digidestined to pass through here today. I mean, besides Ryo, that is."

"Really? Who else has come through?"

Ryo answered, "Josh was here awhile ago. He's since gone north after seeing your battle outside."

"Really?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah. Josh was afraid that the battle could turn on both me and him if we went out and it could be 8-on-2, which is very bad if you're a beginning trainer like he is."

Birch interjected, "Sorry to interrupt you," pointing at Casey, "could I have your name and hometown?"

"I'm Casey Sparks from New Bark Town."

Unlike before, there was a record on Casey. He noticed that one of her Pokemon was a Mudkip.

"I see here that you were the recipient of a Mudkip. Did you get it at the same time as Josh?"

Casey was a little taken aback, but responded by nodding her head.

Birch nodded and said, "I thought as much. I know Mudkips and Treeckos aren't very common outside of the Hoenn region."

Kyle chose that moment to speak up that he had a Torchic, which surprised Birch even less than the fact that Casey had one.

As Birch was giving Kyle the same spiel that he gave Josh, Casey thought, 'I hope we don't have to go after Josh. Maybe I can convince Kyle to let him go on his way…'

"Ryo, can you go with us? I think having someone as powerful as you would be a good thing for us?"

"Of course I can, Kyle. Besides, we're both going the same direction for now."

Casey sighed out loud, causing Kyle and Ryo to look in her direction.

-A few minutes later outside Birch Labs-

"Are you sure you want to come with us, Ryo?" Casey asked, hoping to get a different answer.

"Look, I told you already. I don't have a problem going with you, even if it is for a little while." He looked at Casey and said, "If you don't want to meet with Josh, than go a different direction out of Oldale Town when we leave."

"Casey," Kyle said, "I do want to meet with Josh again. So I'm going to Petalburg City with him no matter what you decide to do."

Casey was surprised that Kyle wanted to see Josh, but now she was torn between wanting to stay with Kyle or staying away from Josh.

"…Fine, Kyle. We can go with Ryo until Petalburg City. I don't know what we'll do from there."

Narrator: And so our heroes have begun their journeys in Hoenn. Josh has gotten off to a running start, though it's more out of fear than out of necessity or excitement. And Ryo has (at least temporarily) joined forces with Kyle and Casey. But how long will that last? Will things stay together long enough for these 4 trainers to meet? And wait… what about Caryl?

-Olivine City-

Caryl came through the digiport in the Pokemon Center in this, the closest big city to the Hoenn region. She now stood at the westernmost point of the mainland, looking toward the horizon.

"Ryo, you left without me… but, now I'm going to be coming there. So, you'd better be ready. Because I'm not letting you off the hook easily this time!"

She tossed a Poke Ball, and out came Aerodactyl, an ancient flying Pokemon who looked like the ancient Pterodactyl. She climbed on Aerodactyl's back.

As Caryl pointed straight ahead to the west, she said, "Aerodactyl, let's fly to Hoenn!"

Aerodactyl flapped its wings and got off the ground. Seconds later, it was going in a hurry toward the Hoenn region.

Next time:

Kyle, Casey and Ryo arrive at Oldale Town, the smallest city within Hoenn's borders. However, just because it's small doesn't mean it can't hold secrets. And where there are secrets, there are those looking to uncover them… Find out who next time!


	3. Ep 3: Magma's First Bang

Digicross Advanced Episode 3: "Magma's First Bang"

Narrator: We find out heroes Ryo, Kyle and Casey approaching Oldale Town, a small city which serves as the midway point between the small Littleroot Town and the larger Petalburg City. However, even for as small a city as it was, it held a valuable secret for whoever was ready to dig it up…

"Well, here we are at Oldale Town." Ryo said.

"Yep. It seems to be a small, quaint little town." Kyle said.

"In other words, this place isn't exciting at all." Casey remarked.

"I didn't say that, Casey!"

"Well, it's true, isn't it? This kind of place never sees much action, so there isn't much to write home about."

"Casey, it's nice sometimes to get away from all the action and come to a place like this." Ryo observed. "Besides, the relative peace will do us some good before we depart for Petalburg City in the morning."

They looked into the sky and saw that the sun was setting, and it was getting kind of late.

Kyle said, "Maybe we should check into the Pokemon Center for the night."

Both Ryo and Casey nodded in agreement and they went into the Pokemon Center.

-In the distance…-

3 red-garbed people stood in the hills just to the west of Oldale Town. 2 of them were using binoculars to see into town, while the third covered their backside to prevent any surprise attacks.

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah."

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?"

"Supposedly, somewhere in this town is a ruin which is supposed to have ancient text which will provide us with clues on how to awaken… it."

"We're not supposed to decipher it here, are we?"

"No. We have a digital camera, so that when we do get in there, we can photograph what the Boss needs, and then return to homebase without causing too much of a ruckus."

"Who cares if we cause a ruckus? It's not like anyone out here in the boonies has the kind of Pokemon which can stop us."

"True. But, I don't want to take any chances of having this mission fail. We will bring back a set of photos for the Boss or we aren't members of Team Magma!"

-Pokemon Center-

As Ryo, Kyle and Casey entered the Pokemon Center, they saw someone talking with Nurse Joy.

"Do you really think something like that exists way out here?"

"Yes, Nurse Joy. I believe this city hides some very interesting secrets for a person with a trained eye such as me."

Ryo, Kyle and Casey walked up to the counter and looked at the man. He was clearly an archeologist, someone who studies ancient civilizations. What wasn't clear was what he was doing in such an unusual place.

Ryo was first to speak. "Excuse me, but what is there to find in this city?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like there's some big ruins waiting underneath the city, or something."

The man turned to the group. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong, young lady. There is a ruin underneath the city. Supposedly, there is a landmark outside of town inside which lies a hidden stairway."

Kyle was stunned. "Really? You mean there's something which hasn't been uncovered for at least a thousand years here?!"

"Yeah." Then, looking like he suddenly remembered something, he said, "Silly me. I haven't even properly introduced myself. I'm George, a paleontologist working to uncover secrets of Hoenn's past."

"It's nice to meet you, George. I'm Ryo."

"My name is Kyle."

"And I'm Casey."

"Well, then. Do you want to come with me to look at this ruin?"

Both Kyle and Casey were eager to see some action and nodded emphatically.

However, Ryo said, "Nah. I'm going to take it easy for awhile. You three go on ahead. Let me know what you see, though."

Kyle said, "Sure thing, Ryo."

And with that, George, Kyle and Casey left the Pokemon Center, leaving Ryo and Nurse Joy.

Ryo then asked, "Nurse Joy, can I use the computer for a moment?"

"I don't see why not. Go right on ahead."

Ryo then stepped over to the computer and turned it on. After booting, he tried to open a simple Digiport from here to another point in the Poke-World, specifically Cinnabar Island. He looked at the screen and saw nothing but static where normally there would have been a picture of Cinnabar.

He held up the digivice in the hopes that something would happen. Sadly, nothing happened when he held the device up to the computer. Well, actually the only thing Ryo succeeded in doing was causing Nurse Joy to look at him funny.

Since Hoenn never received an attack during Demon's attempts to invade the worlds, they had little idea of what a Digimon is, much less what they look like, or what their partners looked like, or even the devices used by the Digidestined.

"Uh, Nurse Joy, this is…"

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me about it. I'm not sure I want to know." Nurse Joy then thought to herself, 'What a weirdo…'

Ryo then proceeded to try and create another Digiport, this time to the only other place in Hoenn with a computer that they knew about, Littleroot Town. He thought that there was a Pokemon Center in Petalburg, but wasn't going to take a chance. The results were exactly the same, however as the Digiport showed nothing but static.

Ryo then decided that, at least for the moment, it would be best to look for possible sources of interference in Hoenn, although he didn't rule out the possibility of there being a sort of "firewall" between the Hoenn region and the Digital World either.

Ryo then asked if there was somewhere he could sleep for the night, and Nurse Joy lead him to a back room.

-Outside Oldale Town, near a small pillar-

Kyle, Casey and George were at the pillar looking at three indentations in the rock.

"What exactly is supposed to go in there?" Casey asked with curiosity in her voice.

"I'm very glad you asked, Casey." As George pulled something out of his front pocket, he said, "Behold!"

There were 3 gems in his hand. One was blue, one red and one green. They were also a sight to behold.

"Those gems are pretty, George." Kyle said.

Suddenly, an unknown voice came in from the distance. "Yes, they are."

Kyle and Casey went on guard as the voice continued, "And now they're the property of Team Magma!"

A group of 3 red-garbed men jumped out from the shadows. They stood before the two children and one archeologist and mentally scanned them for the "threat level" each could provide.

In the end, they decided that the three of them could easily take Kyle, Casey and George.

"You'd better hand over the gems right now, bud. Otherwise, we can't guarantee your safety." One of the grunts said.

Casey interjected, "Just who do you think you are?!"

"We, little girl, think we're members of Team Magma, the organization dedicated to expanding the landmasses of the world."

And, while Casey wasn't thrilled with being called a little girl, at least she had the sense to simply stand her ground… this time.

"Now, are you going to hand over the gems, or are we going to have to get nasty?"

Kyle and Casey responded by grabbing for their Poke Balls.

As Kyle tossed out his Pokemon, he yelled, "Go, Toaster and Noble!" Torchic and Pikachu appeared on the field.

Casey yelled, "Go Aquaris and Meganium!" Meganium and Mudkip were soon out.

The Team Magma members also reached for 2 Poke Balls each and tossed them out. Soon, they were faced with 3 Mightyena, a Torkoal, a Camerupt and a Sableye.

Things weren't looking good for Kyle and Casey, to say the least. After all, Team Magma had nothing but completely evolved Pokemon, and the only one on their side to be fully evolved was Meganium, weak against 2 of their Pokemon.

However, instead of ordering an attack against the Pokemon, the Team Magma members ordered their 4 able Pokemon to use Shadow Ball against the humans. The first one landed at their feet and created a mist which obscured their view. The next three struck the humans directly.

Team Magma truly knew what they were doing. Noble, Toaster, Meganium and Aquaris were quite surprised to find their human trainers lying on the ground unconscious. Magma's Pokemon then proceeded to faint the Pokemon themselves with 1 powerful wave of blows, mostly consisting of Shadow Ball.

Shadow Ball was only effective on beings naturally aligned with a particular element, like many Pokemon are. On humans, who aren't naturally aligned with an element, they simply get stunned from the amount of energy involved. The Magma grunts took the Poke Balls off Kyle's and Casey's belts, recalled the Pokemon, and placed them on the ground near them. Magma had no intentions of stealing any Pokemon… today.

When Kyle and Casey woke up, they found themselves tied up on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs, arms bound to their sides and feet tied together. George found himself being able to move, but with his hands tied behind his back and arms tied to his sides.

"Hello, kiddies, so sorry about being rough before." One of the grunts said with no sincerity in his voice.

"Let us go!" Casey yelled.

"Yeah, let us go!" Kyle added.

"I don't think so. You're our insurance policy, so to speak." The grunt turned to George. "If you cooperate with us and help us get inside the ruins so we can have what we want, we promise not to hurt these children. Otherwise, I can't guarantee their safety."

To further emphasize the point, the other 2 members released Torkoal and Camerupt to watch over them.

As Kyle and Casey defiantly looked at the two Pokemon released near them, George sighed out loud and said, "Fine. I'll help you get inside the ruins."

Casey snapped her head toward him. "No, don't give them anything!"

Kyle added, "Don't worry about us. Just don't let them win!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk your life in order to keep something hidden from them, especially when we don't even know what it is."

The Magma members all gave a small smirk. "Good. At least it's nice to see that someone has some sense. Tell us how to place these gems in the holes."

After receiving instruction from George, they placed the red gem in the left hole, the blue gem in the right hole, and the green gem in the top hole.

Suddenly, a bright light lit up the countryside and all of Oldale Town as the pillar slid aside and revealed a staircase leading into the earth.

"Excellent." As two Magma grunts surrounded George, they pushed him onward. "You're coming with us, just to assure that you don't try to pull anything."

All that was left at the site was Torkoal over Kyle, Noble and his Poke Ball with Toaster inside, and Camerupt over Casey and her two Poke Balls containing Meganium and Aquaris. Unfortunately, their Poke Balls were too far away for them to reach in their current condition.

-Pokemon Center-

The light which had covered the entire town moments had stirred Ryo from his sleep and caused him to go back out into the main room where Nurse Joy had entered just moments before.

Ryo rubbed his eyes and said, "What happened, Nurse Joy? There was this bright light…"

"I don't honestly know."

Ryo thought for a minute, than it struck him. "They must have opened up those ruins. Nurse Joy, do you know where George was heading for?"

"Not really, but I do remember him saying that there was some sort of pillar outside of town which marked the entrance to the ruins. I think he said it was a little to the north of town, as well."

"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy."

As he ran out of the Pokemon center, Ryo thought to himself, 'I sure hope they're all right, but I have a feeling they're not okay…'

-Back at the Pillar-

Kyle and Casey continued to struggle against their bindings while Torkoal and Camerupt waited for new orders from their master.

Suddenly, a new figure appeared coming up the hill. It was Ryo, and he saw that, indeed, things were not all right. "Kyle, Casey! Are you okay?"

Kyle said sarcastically, "Other than the fact that we're tied up with 2 Pokemon literally breathing down our necks, we're doing just FINE!"

Ryo brought out Charmeleon and Swinub almost instantly. The two Pokemon reacted by deciding to go into battle with the newcomer. In their minds, they thought that there was no way those two were escaping, and, in fact, there wasn't.

"You know what to do Charmeleon." Ryo said to him.

"Of course I do, Ryo." Charmeleon charged toward Torkoal, claws ready to slash.

"Swinub, use Icy Wind to slow down Camerupt." Swinub created a wind with ice crystals in it and directed it toward Camerupt. Seeing as it wasn't the fastest Pokemon alive, it got hit easily, and while the attack didn't do much to hurt it, it did seem to slow it down a little bit.

Charmeleon jumped on top of Torkoal and slashed it several times before Torkoal countered by emitting smoke from the dome on top of itself. However, Charmeleon jumped off and slashed it several more times from behind before it finally fainted.

Ryo then surprised Camerupt by ordering a Mud Shot from Swinub. The powerful Ground-type move hit Camerupt, who was clearly unready for it. Then, Charmeleon came back and slashed the now significantly weakened Camerupt and it fainted.

"How was that for a show, Ryo?" Charmeleon asked mockingly.

"You did a great job, Charmeleon." Ryo turned to Swinub, "And so did you, little buddy."

Swinub said, "Swine, Swinub," in a very happy tone of voice.

Ryo then went over to Casey and Kyle and proceeded to untie them to the point where they could free themselves the rest of the way.

"Thanks for your help, Ryo." Kyle said.

"Yeah. We could have gotten out on our own…" That statement made Kyle glare at Casey, but she said, "…but, thanks a lot for helping us out." Kyle then smiled at Casey.

Kyle then realized something, "We forgot about George! He's still down below with Team Magma!"

Ryo didn't know who Team Magma was, but immediately knew that there was trouble brewing. After Kyle and Casey gathered their Poke Balls, they went down below as well. They didn't know that they were being watched…

From behind a nearby fallen pillar, Team Rocket appeared.

"Wasn't those the twerps from before?" James asked.

"Yes. And now they seem to be joined by a new twerp." Jessie observed.

"Who cares about 'dem, look at those!" Meowth said as he pointed to the pillar. He, of course, was interested in the three gems adorned in the pillar.

James and Jessie looked and saw the gems glowing brightly in the moonlight and couldn't help but be in awe. Then, they thought about how they could exploit such beauty.

"If we had those gems, we could sell them and make a fortune!" Jessie said in an excited tone.

"Then we'd have the money to buy real things to build decent traps so we could steal the twerps' Pokemon."

"And dat would make the Boss real happy with us again." Jessie, James and Meowth were, of course, not aware that the "Boss", Giovanni, had recently gone to jail for misdeeds involving a number of the Digidestined.

"Let's do this!" They all semi-yelled, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence.

-Inside the Ruins-

The Team Magma members were busy with their cameras, taking pictures of everything they saw. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and put their cameras away, confident they had enough information to please their Boss.

"Hold it right there, you goons!" Ryo yelled very loudly.

"How dare you kidnap our friends!" Charmeleon added.

"Now you're going to pay for tying us up out there like that!" Casey said.

"You'd better get ready." Kyle said.

The lead grunt simply smiled and said, "Normally, I would punish such insolence. But, we have everything we need from this place, and so, in order to prevent future problems, we shall take our leave." And with that, the lead member used a smoke bomb to cover their exit.

Ryo, Kyle, Casey and George coughed until the smoke cleared, and when it did, no one from Magma was there anymore.

As they untied George, Kyle said, "Dang it! They got away…"

George said, "I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. They didn't take anything of value except some pictures of the walls."

Ryo added, "I wonder why they'd want to do that…"

They decided to take a look around and Kyle pulled out his camera and began to take his own pictures. If nothing else, getting pictures of a ruin would make nice additions to a scrapbook.

Back outside, Team Rocket had just finished their extraction of the three jewels and when they heard footsteps, they quickly reestablished their hiding place. And, since they had yet to say their motto today…

"Prepare for quiet trouble."

"And make it a very silent double."

Suddenly, though, "Wobba!"

Team Rocket freaked out as suddenly Kyle, Casey and Ryo were looking directly at them.

Kyle asked, "What exactly are you three doing back here?"

Seeing as there was no reason to be quiet, they continued the motto…

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket sounds off in the middle of the night!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

Casey asked, "Do you always have to say that dumb motto?"

James retorted, "Well, at least we have a motto! Just because we're proud enough to say it every single day doesn't make it dumb!"

George had looked back at the pillar and said, "The gems are missing!"

Team Rocket again freaked out as Ryo, Kyle and Casey put the pieces together rather quickly after that moment.

"You three must have stolen the gems!" Ryo accused.

"Yeah, otherwise why would you have been hiding from us when we came up here?" Kyle added.

"We haven't lost yet, Team! Go Arbok!"

"Go for it, Weezing!"

Suddenly, Arbok and Weezing appeared before them. Ryo then offered, "Hey, you two, your Pokemon are rather weak after the fighting they've had to do. So how about you let Charmeleon have this one?"

Reluctantly, Kyle and Casey allowed Charmeleon to battle.

"Ready?" Ryo asked.

"I was born ready, Ryo!"

Ryo tried to use his digivice to digivolve Charmeleon, but, it didn't work. It was not a big surprise, considering that the digivice had been dead since they got into Hoenn. Team Rocket laughed, but then Ryo called out for a Flamethrower.

A long and large stream of fire came from Charmeleon's mouth, causing an explosion. The gems Team Rocket were carrying were dropped in the explosion.

"Gaahh! We lost the jewels!" Jessie yelled.

"Yes, but at least we have our reputation." James added.

"We're still losers…" Meowth said.

"We're blasting off again!"

And as they left, they could hear, "Wobbahhh!"

George grabbed the gems. "I'm glad these gems are safe. I'm sure the natural history museum would love to see these."

Ryo said, "Glad we could be of help to you."

Kyle then suggested they all get some sleep, to which everyone nodded.

Next morning, George went north, while Kyle, Casey and Ryo went west out of Oldale Town. They said their goodbyes and went on their ways.

Narrator: And so, our heroes have discovered an ancient ruin in Oldale Town. But what significance does it hold? Will our heroes catch up with Josh in Petalburg City? And when they do, what will happen? Find out the answers to at least some of these questions next time!

Next Time: Josh meets up with an old friend and tried to successfully capture a Pokemon for his bout with the Petalburg Gym Leader. But who is that lurking in the shadows, all garbed in blue? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	4. Ep 4: Aqua's First Splash

Digicross Advanced Episode 4: "Aqua's First Splash"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find Josh inside the boundaries of Petalburg City. On the advice of Professor Birch, he has come here, knowing that he could get help if he needed it. However, he doesn't realize how easy it's going to be…

-Pokemon Center-

Even though Josh had been doing nothing but running since Littleroot Town, he felt the need to at least accustom himself to the way the Pokemon Centers work. What Josh didn't know was that something was going on outside…

-Outside-

A giant Pokemon which had never been seen before in Hoenn was landing near the Pokemon Center. Of course, the giant Pokemon was Aerodactyl. Caryl stepped off (or rather, sort of fell off) Aerodactyl and recalled it into her Poke Ball.

She soon began to search for Ryo, the only reason she was in Hoenn in the first place. However, as she came around the corner of the Pokemon Center…

Caryl and Josh, who had just come out of said Pokemon Center, collided with each other.

They dusted themselves off, and Josh said, "I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

Caryl said, "No, it's my fault."

Then they looked at each other for the first time…

Caryl Kyashi is an 11-year old Digidestined from New Zealand with dark brown eyes and hair. She is an "energetic" Digidestined who can make friends with many people… that is, if they can get over her chronic happiness and ability to embarrass them. She is also a headstrong person who won't take no for an answer, and if there's a way to do something, she'll find it.

At first, Josh didn't recognize Caryl. She wore a red hooded-t shirt, black trackpants, and black sneakers. Josh could also see zippers on the side of the trackpants so that if she got hot, they could be unzipped. He could also see they were a bit too long for her.

Caryl then recognized Josh, "Hey! You're that guy Josh who has been living with Ryo for the past month."

Josh thought why she would know that, and it dawned on him, "You're Caryl, aren't you?"

She smiled brightly and said, "Yep, that's me."

Josh thought to himself, 'If Ryo finds me now, there could be a lot of ugliness…'

Caryl said, "I know Ryo shot through a couple days ago, so maybe you could tell me where he is?"

As Josh pondered what the heck she just said, he said in all honesty, "I don't actually know where he is."

Josh started to walk off as Caryl thought to herself, 'That's strange. I would have thought that Josh would have known where Ryo is…'

Suddenly, she realized that Josh had, in the meantime, gone beyond the edge of town, and ran after him, determined to get some answers.

Caryl suddenly had a revelation. 'Hey! Even if Josh doesn't know exactly where Ryo is, chances are he knows where he's going!'

Caryl yelled, "Josh! Stop for a minute!"

Josh, not wanting to tick her off, decided to wait.

Caryl caught up and then did something unexpected… she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down onto his knees. "You know exactly where Ryo's going, eh?"

At that last sentence, Caryl let go of Josh's collar and said, "Oh my god! I'm turning into a Kiwi!"

As Josh brushed himself off and got up, he thought to himself, 'Wait a minute… I know Caryl's from New Zealand, but hasn't she always been there? Well, even if she hasn't, maybe I can milk this…'

When Josh stood up, he said with a little smirk, "You're turning into a fruit, Caryl?"

Caryl snapped, "No, I'm not, Josh."

Josh then took a good long look at her, occasionally moving around to get different views of her. "That's funny, Caryl. I don't see the resemblance."

As Josh started to laugh, Caryl said, "That's not funny!"

"Funny is in the eye of the beholder, Caryl." Josh said as he finished his laughing. "Seriously, I thought you always lived in New Zealand."

"No, Josh. I'm a Fili."

"A what?"

"You know, Josh, a Fili, a Filipino, someone who comes from the Philippines."

"You mean that nation of a thousand islands south of Japan?"

"Yes, Josh."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Caryl. I shouldn't have made fun of you like that."

"It's okay, Josh. Frankly, if I was you and you were me, I would have done the same thing."

Josh breathed a sigh of relief.

"Seriously, Josh, do you know anything more about Ryo that you didn't tell me?"

Josh sighed again and said, "Yeah. Ryo and I originally came here together. We got separated in Littleroot Town because of a big battle. However, we agreed to meet in Petalburg in a couple of days."

Caryl then had an idea, "If Ryo's coming here… maybe I should stay with you for awhile." She looked directly at Josh and said, "After all, Ryo's coming here looking for you, and if I'm with you…"

Josh said, "Caryl, I don't think…"

"Sorry, Josh. But, I'm not taking no for an answer. Besides," she said as she started to smile even more brightly as before, "wouldn't you like to have me along for awhile?"

Josh thought to make sure he chose the right answer, and in fact, the only answer.

"Fine, Caryl. You can hang around for awhile."

Caryl was excited, mostly because she knew Ryo would soon be there to meet Josh and she would be there to meet him.

Josh added unnecessarily, "Besides, even if I said no, you'd find some way to tag along with me anyway."

"Well, I won't deny that."

Josh began to wander the countryside near Petalburg City, looking for Pokemon to catch. He knew he wasn't going to be able to follow the path that Ryo does after what had happened yesterday.

"Hey, Josh." Caryl said.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Simple, Caryl. I'm looking for a new Pokemon. I want to catch a new one as soon as possible so that I at least have a chance when I go back to face Petalburg Gym."

"Oooh. Maybe I can help…"

"Have you ever caught a Pokemon on your own?"

"Of course! I have Aerodactyl, don't I?"

"Oh, that's right." Josh thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, come on, then."

-After a few minutes-

Josh encountered a wild Zigzagoon and took out his Pokedex.

"Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. This Pokemon is very curious and will check out anything it finds interesting."

Having recorded data to Pokedex, Josh sent out Blade. Seeing as this was his only Pokemon, it wasn't surprising.

"Josh, try to weaken it a bit!" Caryl yelled to him.

"Right!" Josh turned to Blade, "Blade, use Pound to try and weaken it!"

The attack was made successfully and they could see that the Zigzagoon took a bit of damage. It came back by tackling Blade.

"Blade! Pound it again!"

Well, the good news was that the attack connected. The bad news was that instead of into the ground, Blade's Pound sent Zigzagoon flying sky-high and into Petalburg Woods.

Josh and Caryl stared at each other for a few moments. Caryl then said, "Well, I guess Blade doesn't know it's own strength."

Blade put a sort of embarrassed look on his face, closing his eyes, smiling and putting one of his paws behind his head.

Josh simply shook his head.

Meanwhile, someone had their eyes on Josh…

"Well, that kid sure is inept at catching Pokemon. But, he could get lucky somewhere and catch one. And if he does, I'll be ready to take it in the name of Team Aqua!"

-About 10 minutes later-

Blade had managed to get in a few good blows against Poochyena. However, Poochyena had also managed to get in a couple of blows against Blade. Only because of Blade's speed was he still standing against Poochyena.

"Blade, hit it one more time with Pound from up high!"

Treecko jumped into the air and came down hard on the puppy Pokemon. Poochyena was down for the count.

"Josh! Throw out a Poke Ball now!"

He did as instructed. "Poke Ball, go!"

It made impact with Poochyena and drew her into the Poke Ball. The dot on the Poke Ball turned red as it shook around. After a few moments, the dot turned back to white and it made a sort of clicking sound.

Even though Josh had never caught a Pokemon himself before, he knew instantly that he had succeeded in capturing Poochyena. He went over and grabbed the Poke Ball. Then, in an Ash-like moment, Josh struck a pose and screamed for the world to hear, "I caught Poochyena!"

Blade shook his head and said, "Treecko…"

Caryl then asked the obvious, "Was that pose really necessary, Josh?"

Josh sweatdropped, realizing he looked absolutely silly, then he said, "I guess not. I guess I just got excited in the thrill of the moment of my first successful capture."

Suddenly, a mysterious voice rang out near them. "Congratulations, kid."

Josh and Caryl looked around for the source of the voice.

"However, that Pokemon of yours now belongs to me!" The person said as he jumped dramatically out of a nearby bush.

This man was all dressed in blue as now stood before them.

Josh asked, "Who do you think you are?"

The man was almost insulted by the question. "You mean, you don't know?"

"Uh… no. That's why I asked."

Out of curiosity, he asked, "You're new to the Hoenn region, aren't you?"

Caryl interjected, "Duh! Isn't that obvious?"

Josh sweatdropped again and nodded to the affirmative.

The man in blue then smiled. "Well, then I guess I can forgive your insolence."

This statement pissed off both Josh and Caryl.

"I am a member of the glorious Team Aqua. We, of Team Aqua, are dedicated to giving the world more water."

Josh asked, "Well, if all you're trying to do is provide the world with more water, why do you have to steal my Poochyena?"

"Simple, kid. Our methods of bringing water to the world involve me needing your Poochyena, so hand it over!"

Caryl then stepped up in front of Josh. "If you want Josh's Pokemon, you'll have to go through me!"

The Aqua member was a little surprised that someone was defending this boy, much less someone like Caryl. "Oh really? And just what are you going to do about it, little girl?"

That really infuriated Caryl, who then picked up the nearest conveniently placed boulder, and shoved it right at the grunt's face.

The grunt had just enough time to let out a scream before the boulder knocked him out cold. The boulder itself landed several feet away.

Josh and Blade simply stared at the fallen Aqua member for several moments. Caryl quickly regained her composure, as well as her happiness.

Caryl said cheerfully, "Well, shall we go back to Petalburg, Josh?"

She started toward the city edge, while Josh and Blade continued to stare at the Team Aqua member.

Suddenly, they heard, "Come on, eh?" And then… "Oh my God! I did it again!"

Josh snapped out of his surprised state and recalled Blade. As he did, the Team Aqua member moaned and said, "I can't even get this kid's Pokemon?! Boss is not going to be thrilled about this…"

Josh heard the statement and smiled wryly. Then, he ran to catch up with Caryl.

Josh then made another observation of the obvious, "Gee, you're sure happy a lot. You even go from angry to happy in a few seconds."

Caryl then said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Josh. I know that I'm almost too happy sometimes."

"It's okay, Caryl. Honestly, I can appreciate someone who can find the positive in everything. I was just making an observation, that's all."

Caryl smiled at this comment.

Josh and Caryl walked to the Pokemon Center as Josh prepared to enter Petalburg Gym to challenge the Gym Leader for his first badge.

Narrator: And so, Josh has joined forces, albeit not entirely of his own will, with Caryl. And while the two of them wait for the approaching Ryo, Josh will challenge the Petalburg Gym. Will he be successful in defeating his first Gym Leader? And what will happen when Ryo finally does arrive in Petalburg City? Find out the answers to at least some of these questions next time!

Next Time: Josh and Caryl meet Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader. But, will anything come of that meeting, and what's Caryl pulling out of her backpack when she meets Ryo? Find out the strange answers on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	5. Ep 5: The Fateful Meeting

Digicross Advanced Episode 5: "The Fateful Meeting"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes Josh and Caryl outside of Petalburg Gym. Josh is preparing to enter and challenge the Gym Leader for his first badge, the Balance Badge. However, not all is what it seems…

-Outside Petalburg Gym-

"Josh, are you sure you're ready for this?" Caryl asked.

"No. But, I'm going to give it my all, as I'm sure Blade and Poochyena will."

However, as they approached, they saw something unusual in the window, so they went to check it out. As it turned out, what they saw was someone who didn't look like the Gym Leader at all. He was a young boy who didn't look old enough to be a trainer. He had glasses on, a green short-sleeved shirt, brown shorts and green shoes.

"That kid doesn't look any older than Cody!" Caryl said in a quiet tone.

"Yeah. I think that kid's putting us on."

"What does it say in the guidebook about this Gym?"

Josh pulled out a guidebook he had picked up at the Pokemon Center before coming here.

"Hmmm… According to this book, I need… 3 Pokemon to fight here…"

Josh looked disappointed.

Suddenly, Caryl got an idea. "Hey, Josh! How about we give this kid the scare of his life?"

Josh brightened up. "How do you propose we do that, Caryl?"

"Simple. I give you one of my Pokemon for a few moments, we go in, send out 3 Pokemon and scare that kid into not doing this anymore."

Josh thought, then smiled mischievously. "Let's do it, Caryl."

Caryl handed Josh one of her Poke Balls. Josh clipped it onto his belt and they went into the gym.

"Hello there." The "Gym Leader" called out.

"Greetings. I, Josh from Cinnabar Island, challenge you to a battle!"

"Sorry, Josh. But, in order to compete in this Gym, you need 3 Pokemon. And I know you're a rookie trainer who wouldn't likely have 3 Pokemon with you, so tough luck."

"Who ever said I don't have 3 Pokemon?"

This statement shocked the young man and caused him to gulp. He got even more nervous when Josh actually pulled 3 Pokemon from his belt.

Josh asked the obvious, "Well, then. Shall we get started?"

The young man looked extremely nervous, as he didn't have any Pokemon of his own.

Josh smiled and said, "You don't have any Pokemon, do you?"

The young man looked absolutely distraught, knowing that his secret was out.

"Well, since you're the Gym Leader, I guess you owe me a Balance Badge by default."

The young man was not about to hand over the Balance Badge, and in fact looked rather nervous about it, but suddenly, an older man, an older woman, and a young girl entered the gym. The older man was clapping all the way inside. "Well done. Great job, Josh."

"Huh? What do you mean? And who are you?"

"I'm Norman, the true Gym Leader of Petalburg City. You really gave my son a scare there with your tactics."

The young man said, "Hey, what do you mean, Dad?"

"Well, Max, this young man got wise to you and borrowed a Poke Ball from his friend." He said as he motioned to Caryl.

Josh turned to Norman. "So, you knew all along, and you didn't stop us?"

Caryl added, "Yeah. That seems rather strange to me too."

Norman's daughter chimed in, "Well, Max does have a habit of trying to trick new trainers into thinking he's the Gym Leader. It's not a very nice thing to do, but hey…"

Max yelled at her, "Well, at least I'm doing something with Pokemon, May!"

May yelled back, "You call that doing something? All you're doing is lying to trainers about your position! You aren't even old enough to have a Pokemon!"

"You are, and you don't even have one yet, May!"

Norman finally got in between the two feuding siblings. "That's enough, you two. We don't need a big argument here, especially with guests here."

They both stopped arguing, but it was clear that the tension was not released one little bit.

Norman turned to Josh and Caryl. "I know you came here looking for a Balance Badge, and while I can't give you one now, I can offer you guys lunch if you want."

Caroline, Norman's wife perked up, "I'll go start making lunch right now!" She ran off into the kitchen. As it turned out, this place was not only the Petalburg Gym, but also the home to all of Norman's family.

May turned toward Josh and Caryl. "Well, would you two like to stay for lunch?"

Josh said, "It would be an honor."

Caryl was a little less formal, "That sounds great, eh?"

Suddenly realizing what she had done, Caryl proceeded to scream, causing everyone to cover their ears.

Max then looked at Josh and said, "Hey, why did she do that?"

Josh shook his head as he said, "Believe me, you don't want to know…"

-10 minutes later-

Josh, Caryl and Norman and his family sat at the table eating.

"This stuff is good, Caroline!" Caryl said emphatically.

"Yeah. You're a pretty good cook." Josh said.

"Thanks." Caroline smiled at the compliments.

Norman looked at Josh and Caryl and said, "What are you planning to do in Hoenn?"

Josh looked at him and said, "That's a rather forward question."

"I know, Josh. But, I'm curious to find out why you decided to come to Hoenn."

Josh responded, "Well, I'm aiming to enter the Hoenn League."

"Are you, Josh? Then I have a little advice for you."

"What's that, Norman?"

"When you leave town, go west and north through Petalburg Woods. Not long after that, you'll find Rustboro City. You should find the Gym there a little bit easier to beat than mine. Now, I'm not saying the Rustboro Gym Leader is a pushover…"

"Of course not. I wouldn't want to face a Gym Leader who wasn't prepared to give it his or her all."

Norman nodded at Josh's response and turned to Caryl. "What are you planning to do here, Caryl?"

"Honestly, I'm here looking for my wayward boyfriend."

This got everyone at the table except Josh looking at her. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well, a couple days ago, my boyfriend shot through and then I found out from his aunt that he came here to Hoenn. So… I'm here in Hoenn looking for him."

Norman and Caroline nodded at each other. Then, Norman said, "I wish you the best of luck in finding him."

Caroline added, "We know what it would be like to be separated from each other, so we know how you feel."

May said, "That's so sweet, coming to Hoenn just to find your boyfriend."

Max nearly gagged at all of the sugar being poured around by his family. Josh simply continued to eat, having been aware of the whole story for quite awhile.

-15 minutes later, edge of Petalburg City-

Ryo, Kyle and Casey entered Petalburg City from the east. They stared at the fairly small city. There weren't any very tall buildings in this city, but it was a fair sized city.

Kyle asked, "Isn't this where the first Gym is supposed to be?"

Ryo answered, "I think so, but I'm not sure."

A passerby said, "You're looking for Petalburg Gym?"

Casey said, "Of course! Where is it?"

The civilian pointed at a fairly large white building.

They smiled and said almost in unison, "Thanks!" Then they walked off.

Ryo stopped suddenly as he remembered something… "Josh is supposed to be here in town somewhere."

Casey still didn't like the idea of having to meet up with Josh, but she did like the idea of having Ryo around, especially after what happened at Oldale Town.

Kyle suggested, "Let's go to the Gym first, then we can look for Josh."

Ryo said angrily, "Are you saying that beating the Gym Leader is more important than finding my friend?"

Kyle went on the defensive. "No, it's not that at all. I'm suggesting that there may be a chance that Josh is in the Gym as well. You said he came here looking to become a better trainer, right?"

"True." Suddenly, Ryo got what Kyle was getting at. "Oh, so if Josh wanted to get better as a trainer…"

"Exactly. He'd head for Petalburg Gym."

"And the best part about going to the Gym first is that we can challenge the Gym Leader too!" Casey said very enthusiastically.

They went to the Gym, not ready for the meeting they were about to have…

-Inside Petalburg Gym-

Caryl and Josh had eaten very well, a pleasure not normally reserved for Pokemon Trainers on their journey, unless someone in their group was a good cook.

Both Caryl and Josh expressed their gratitude by saying, "Thank you very much, Norman!"

"You're quite welcome. It was a pleasure to have both of you here."

Max added, "And maybe next time, we can actually see you battle, Josh."

"I certainly hope so, Max." Even though Josh had tricked him a half-hour earlier, Josh extended a hand to Max and said, "No hard feelings about before, right?"

Max stuck out his hand and said, "No. I think I got what I deserved. But, one day, I'll succeed my father and become Gym Leader here as well."

Caryl said, "It's good to have ambitions." She turned to Josh and said, "I'm going to wait outside for you, okay?"

"Sure thing, Caryl."

She ran toward the entrance, and Josh said to Norman, "I'll be back here someday, and at that time, I will want a battle with you."

"Of course. I'm looking forward to a great and honorable battle from you when you return."

Josh gave Norman a thumbs-up and said, "You can count on it!"

Suddenly, Josh heard a pair of yells coming from outside the Petalburg Gym door.

Norman looked at Josh and said, "Do you want me to come help you?"

Josh was quick to accept his offer in the heat of the moment. Both Josh and Norman ran outside and found Caryl on the ground rubbing her head. There was also another trainer who looked familiar on the ground unconscious, and two more standing over the fallen one whom Josh didn't immediately recognize.

Josh bent down to Caryl's side and asked, "Are you all right?"

Caryl said, "Oh bugger! That hurt a lot!"

Both Josh and Norman went into a battle stance and Josh asked, "Which one of you is responsible for this mess?"

Caryl then began to get up and say, "No, Josh. It's not anyone's fault but mine. I was running out the door of the Gym and we smacked into each other not far outside the door."

Norman then asked, "Are you sure you're fine?"

Caryl answered, "Yes. Thank you for your concern, Josh, Norman."

"Good." Norman turned to Josh, "I'm going back inside the Gym, since things seem to be under control out here. Remember, Josh. I expect to see you again somewhere down the road."

"I won't forget. Thanks, Norman."

Norman re-entered the Gym and Josh finally got to take a good look at who he was dealing with. While Josh was thinking about that, the fallen trainer began to get up and Josh recognized him immediately.

"Ryo! It's you!"

As Ryo's vision came back into focus, he saw Josh standing over him. He said weakly, "Hey, Josh. Glad I found you."

"I hope you're all right, Ryo."

"I am, Josh. I just got knocked down pretty hard. Who did knock me down, anyway?"

As Ryo got up off the ground, he soon got his answer…

"Ryo Akiyama! I finally found you!" Caryl yelled as she came out from behind Josh.

Ryo almost yelled in surprise at seeing Caryl standing there before him.

"Did you really think you could shoot through and I wouldn't find out and come after you?"

Ryo didn't know what 'shoot through' meant, but he knew he was in trouble. "Uh, Caryl…"

"Oh, you're impossible, Ryo!"

Caryl then reached into her pack and grabbed a very interesting prop to illustrate her point… A collar and leash…

"Do I have to put you in this to keep track of you, Ryo?

The prop proceeded to catch all of their attention, and all Ryo could stammer out was, "N… No, that… won't be necessary."

Caryl kept it out for a few more seconds before putting it away again, causing Ryo to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don't think you're off the hook, Ryo! You could have at least told me where you're going." Caryl said as she vented her frustration and annoyance.

"Caryl, it's just…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You didn't want me to worry about you. But, the truth is that I worry about you when I don't know where you are."

"Caryl… I'm sorry."

Even though Caryl was very annoyed with Ryo a moment before, her naturally happy personality made her forgive Ryo, despite his shortcomings in the communication department. They hugged for a few moments and then Ryo turned to Josh.

"Thanks for taking care of Caryl for me while I was still catching up to you, Josh."

Josh responded in true honesty, "It was more like she was taking care of me…"

Kyle, Casey and Ryo looked at Josh strangely and shook it off.

"Anyway, Ryo, it looks like you've made some friends… and they look kind of familiar…"

"They should, Josh. From what I've heard, these two were around when you received Blade."

Suddenly, a light turned on in Josh's head and he said, "You're Kyle Evanick and Casey Sparks, the other two people to receive Hoenn starters on that same day, aren't you?"

Casey said in a huff, "Well, at least it's good you remembered something."

Josh said in an annoyed tone, "I don't know how I could ever forget a personality such as YOURS…"

Both Josh and Casey gave each other dirty glances before Kyle stepped in the middle of both of them. "Come on, you two! We haven't been together two seconds and you're already fighting with each other!"

In the end, they both looked away from each other and muttered, "Hmph!"

In the distance, Team Rocket were having similar feelings…

"Look at them! Now there are two more twerps!" Jessie said.

"They're multiplying!" James observed.

"Well, we can look at da bright side!" Meowth said.

Pop! "Wobba, wobba!"

"What bright side, Meowth?" James asked.

"With more twerps comes more Pokemon for da Boss! We've been through some hard times, so it's about time Team Rocket comes out on top!"

"Yeah!" They all yelled.

"Wobba!"

Josh looked at Kyle and Casey and said, "It was nice to see… one of you… again." Casey gave Josh another dirty look.

Ryo asked, "Wait, Josh. Where are you going?"

"Well, since Caryl and you are back together, there's no reason for me to stick around here."

Kyle looked at Josh and said, "Where are you heading to?"

Caryl interrupted Josh's thought, "He's going where Norman suggested he go, eh?" Realizing she had done it again, she yelled, which caught people's attention for several miles.

Ryo then asked Josh, "What was up with that?"

Josh then responded, rather matter-of-factly, "She's afraid of becoming a Kiwi."

Of course, Casey was the first to respond, "She's turning into a fruit?"

Kyle said, "Nah. She doesn't look like a fruit."

Ryo added, "Maybe she's turning into one of those flightless birds from there."

Casey asked, "Do those birds talk?"

Ryo said, "Well, Kiwimon talks. So…"

Kyle said, "So what?"

All the while, Caryl is getting more and more annoyed. Finally, she pulls out a comically large hammer and swings it in their general direction. The good news was that Ryo, Kyle and Casey weren't too enthralled in their discussion to duck underneath. The bad news was that Team Rocket got blindsided by it and ended up blasting off without further incident.

Needless to say, the conversation stopped when Caryl pulled out the hammer. "Would you three knock it off? I'm getting really narked off at you."

That word caused everyone else to tilt their heads out of confusion. Ryo then asked, out of humor, "Can you actually speak in English?"

"Sorry, Ryo. I think the slang of New Zealand is getting a little too much into my head."

Josh steered the subject back to where it was before, his next destination. "Anyway, Norman, the Gym Leader in Petalburg suggested I go to Rustboro City."

Something dawned on Ryo, Kyle and Casey right then. "Wait, that guy who came out with you was the Gym Leader of Petalburg?" Ryo asked.

"Yep. I couldn't challenge him because I have only 2 Pokemon. You need 3 to challenge him, so I'm heading north to Rustboro City where I can make my first Gym Challenge."

Ryo, Kyle and Casey all realized at the same time that with their teams of 2 Pokemon each, they weren't eligible to face the Petalburg Gym either.

But, before they could say anything, Josh continued to speak. "Well, I'm sure you folks have things to do and people to see, so I'll just take my leave and head for Rustboro City. Perhaps we'll meet again somewhere down the road. See ya!"

Josh gave a little salute before tearing off to the west, leaving the rest of them staring at the path Josh took, and were even more surprised that he made an action seemingly on a whim.

Caryl was the first to regain her composure. "Wow. I never imagined Josh would be the one to shoot through."

Ryo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. That certainly isn't like him."

Caryl asked, "Do you have enough Pokemon to challenge Norman?"

All three of them shook their heads.

Ryo then said, "I'm going after Josh."

Kyle then asked, "Are you sure, Ryo?"

"Yes, I'm sure. When I came here, I kind of promised myself that I'd look after Josh and make sure he's okay. Besides, Gail will kill me if anything does happen to him."

Casey then said, "Well, then I guess you should get going! See you!"

Ryo left and Caryl quickly followed.

-Outskirts of Petalburg City-

When Ryo and Caryl turned the corner at the edge of town, they were surprised to find Josh standing there.

"Josh! What are you doing here?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah. I thought you had gone toward Rustboro City."

"Now, come on you two. Did you really think I would wait around Petalburg City without intending to travel with you?"

"Well…"

Josh gave Ryo a look of fake annoyance. "You know me better than that! I never say what I don't mean. And when I said I wanted to travel with you, Ryo, I meant it!"

Josh motioned with his hand for them to come with him. However, as they started to leave, a voice came from behind them.

"Wait a second!"

Josh, Ryo and Caryl turned around to find, much to their surprise, Kyle and Casey.

Josh was rather forward and asked, "What are you two doing here?"

Kyle said, "After a long discussion," he said while Casey gave him another dirty look, "we decided it would be best to travel with you for awhile."

This decision surprised Josh and Ryo.

"Are you serious?!" Josh asked.

"What's wrong, Josh? Don't you want us to travel with you for awhile?"

"It's not that, Kyle. It's…"

Josh thought of the best way to say this and then said, "Let's put it this way." Josh pointed to Kyle and said, "You, I don't mind." Then he looked at Casey and said, "You, I mind."

"Hey! It's not like this is going to be a picnic for me either, buster!"

"Nobody asked you, hothead!"

"How dare you call me that!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Suddenly, Casey turned to Kyle. "And you, if it weren't for the fact that you wanted to travel with 'Ryo'…" she said in a mocking voice.

Kyle shouted, "Hey! Don't speak about him that way! He's one of the best trainers on the planet, and certainly a lot better than you are!"

"It's not like either one of you two are any good at this anyway…" Casey said, while looking at both Josh and Kyle.

Both Josh and Kyle nearly came to beat up Casey. It took Ryo and Caryl restraining them both in order to keep the peace… for a little while.

After some time passed, the tension was gone, for now.

"Well, if you want to come with us," Josh said, "than… I guess there's no reason to stop you."

Narrator: And so, our heroes have united for the first time. But with the tension between Casey and Josh, will it last long? Or, perhaps things will work out okay. The answers lie on the horizon…

Next Time: As all 5 trainers travel toward Rustboro City, they meet a strange green and white Pokemon who has a strange attraction to Caryl. Will she catch the Pokemon? Can she stand that Pokemon? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!


	6. Ep 6: You Dirty Ralts

Digicross Advanced Episode 6: "You Dirty Ralts"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find out heroes outside the boundaries of Petalburg City, as they begin their journey toward Rustboro City and the first Gym of the Hoenn League. However, things were about to get more interesting…

It had been awhile since Casey and Josh argued with each other, mainly because there was very little in the form of conversation between them, or anyone else for that matter. After the massive argument they had near Petalburg City, it was clear that this was going to be a very long journey for both of them.

However, a Pokemon coming out of the bushes broke the silence.

"Hey!" Kyle said as it came out of the bushes right in front of him. The Pokemon was small with a white body and a green dome-like head with red lumps coming out the top.

Out of instinct, Casey pulled out her Pokedex and scanned the new Pokemon.

"Ralts, the emotion Pokemon. This Pokemon responds to people's emotions. If it senses hostility, it will teleport away in an instant."

Josh said, "A Pokemon which responds to emotions…"

Ryo interjected, "That must be a Psychic Pokemon."

Ralts further illustrated the point… by gravitating toward Caryl.

"Hey! Why is that Ralts coming toward me?" Caryl said in surprise as she stepped backwards.

Kyle simply nodded and said, "Well, it makes sense that Ralts is moving toward you."

Ryo thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah. Pokedex just said that Ralts responds towards people's emotions…"

Josh suddenly caught Ryo's drift, "And since you have got to be the happiest person around…"

Kyle said, "The Ralts would be naturally drawn toward you."

The Ralts came up next to Caryl and began to rub up on her. "Ralts, ralts, ralts!"

Josh said, "That's cute." Kyle, Casey and Ryo nodded in agreement.

But, Ralts decided to get closer to the source of the happy energy… by jumping on Caryl's head.

Caryl began to run around screaming, "Get it off me!" multiple times. Everyone else sweatdropped while watching the show put on by Caryl and Ralts.

"Are you touching this, Ryo?" Josh asked.

"Nope," he responded.

"I don't want to touch it either." Casey said.

Kyle shook his head to indicate he didn't want to get close to Caryl either.

Finally, Caryl shook off Ralts and the Pokemon took off into the bushes.

"Why didn't any of you buggers help me out?"

Josh covered for all of them and said, "Well, we didn't want to get too close, or else you might have run into us."

Caryl glanced at Josh, not believing the excuse for one moment. However, she let it go for now.

Ryo said, "I think that Ralts really liked you, Caryl."

"Should I think about capturing it?"

Casey said, "I don't know. I guess if you like things sitting on your head…"

Caryl yelled back, "How do you know that thing will sit on my head again?"

Kyle pulled his backpack off and said, "Let me take a look in my Pokemon book."

Josh looked at Kyle and said, "Wait a minute. You have a Pokemon book, Kyle?"

"Of course. You don't think I'd come to Hoenn unprepared, do you?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that… I didn't know you could have such a thing."

"Well, you can, Josh." Kyle pulled out the book and looked up Ralts's entry in the book.

"Ah. It says here that Ralts is naturally drawn toward positive energy. As such, it will try to get as close to the positive energy as possible."

Caryl shook her head and said, "Oh great. That thing will continue to sit on my head, even when I catch it, eh?"

Caryl then screamed, "Oh my god! I'm still turning into a Kiwi!"

Kyle then cleared his throat to get Caryl's attention and said, "As I was trying to say, before I was interrupted… The Ralts are inherently curious about any form of positive energy it comes in contact with. However, after the initial contact, the habit is normally not seen again."

Caryl breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, some interested spectators were listening…

"Did you hear that, Jess? A Pokemon that responds to positive feelings…"

"Yeah. Such a thing would be perfect for the Boss, wouldn't it, James?"

James suddenly looked down at the ground and said, "Yeah, but that thing would never come toward our feelings…"

Jessie looked down in sadness and agreed. "All we have are feelings of hopelessness, shame and fear of failure."

Meowth suddenly jumped up and clawed both of their faces. "That's no way to look at things, we got to catch a break sometime, so why not now?"

"Because we're outnumbered by the twerps…" James said.

"Because they've got stronger Pokemon…" Jessie added.

"And because we're a bunch of losers…" Jessie and James both said sadly.

Pop! "Wobbuffet!"

"Well, if you believe youse is going to fail, then that's exactly what we'll do. We need to think positively if we want to catch that there Ralts."

James said, "I'm positive we're going to blast off…"

Meowth said, "I tink this is going to take awhile…"

Meanwhile, Caryl was trying to decide whether or not to catch Ralts. 'Do I really want to catch that thing? It's kind of cute, but do I really want it on my head?'

Suddenly, Caryl said loudly, "Guys, I'm going to catch that Ralts!"

Now, it wasn't the fact that Caryl made a sudden impulsive decision that surprised the four other trainers. What surprised them was the fact that Caryl was now going to go after a Pokemon which not more than 20 minutes ago was sitting on her head.

"Are you sure you want to get Ralts?" Ryo asked. "After all, even though Kyle's book says that the habit of sitting on your head goes away, you are a particularly happy person. It may continue to do that…"

"I know that, Ryo. But it's so cute; I wouldn't mind having it on my head!"

This statement, of course, caused everyone to sweatdrop.

Nearby, Ralts was in the bushes, watching Caryl intently, waiting to see if he would be welcomed by Caryl. He had been standing there for the past 20 minutes waiting and watching to decide what he would do next. Suddenly, he could feel an unclouding of Caryl's mind and indecision and he could tell that he indeed was wanted.

Unfortunately, as Ralts started to come out of the bushes, two sets of hands grabbed him.

Ralts instinctively sent out a sort of mental distress signal as he was being picked up. This mental signal was so strong, however, that even those who did not have ESP could pick up the signal… mainly Caryl, Ryo, Casey, Kyle and Josh who were standing nearby.

They were in the middle of talking about how to catch Ralts when suddenly a sharp pain came into their heads. The Digidestined trainers all fell on their knees from the pain in their heads. A few moments later, the pain subsided and they got up again.

"What in the world was that?" Ryo asked.

Kyle shook his head and said, "I don't know. One minute, we're talking about Ralts, and the next we're grabbing our heads in pain."

Casey said, "That really hurt!"

Josh said in a mocking voice, "Great job figuring that one out. You're really on top of things, aren't you?"

Casey yelled, "Hey! I'm not some sort of ditz, Joshua!"

"Well, you certainly don't know how to think with your head too often…"

"And, you think too much!"

"There's no such thing as thinking too much, Casey!"

"Really? When it takes 5 minutes to decide what to have for breakfast, you're thinking too much!"

"Hey, it doesn't take me 5 minutes to pick breakfast! It only takes me 3!"

Ryo and Kyle sweatdropped, and then decided to interfere with the argument by grabbing the two of them. Ryo grabbed Josh and Kyle grabbed Casey, preventing them from coming to blows.

Caryl suddenly lit up as she realized what was going on. "Hey, that pain must have been coming from Ralts!"

The other trainers looked at Caryl in bewilderment.

Kyle asked, "Why would Ralts send out a sharp pain?"

Caryl said, "It may have been in danger and sent a psychic message in distress."

Josh said after a little thought, "Well, that certainly makes sense." The others nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, laughter broke out around them. "Ha, ha, ha! Prepare for trouble, since you've figured it out!"

"And make it double without a doubt!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobba, wobba!"

Three figures who held a small cage containing Ralts now stood before them. However, they were preoccupied with having to deal with Team Rocket again.

Kyle yelled, "Not you three, again!"

Josh and Caryl looked at Kyle as Josh said, "Again? Do you know these three?"

Casey said, "Yeah, and not in a good way either."

Josh said, "Then can you tell me who these losers are?"

Team Rocket was insulted by the concept of being called losers by someone who has never even battled them.

"How dare you call us losers!" Jessie yelled.

"Is it really so obvious that you can call us losers without even battling us once?!" James yelled.

"Wobbuffet!"

Josh pulled back and said, "Geez, I didn't realize you were so sensitive about the whole thing…"

Then Ryo said, "Don't worry about it, Josh. You got it right the first time."

Jessie, James and Meowth facefaulted. Then, Jessie pulled out a Poke Ball and said, "No one insults Team Rocket like that! Go, Arbok!"

James also pulled out a Poke Ball and yelled, "Go for it, Weezing!"

The familiar forms of Arbok and Weezing were soon in front of Jessie and James. Suddenly, Josh recognized them.

Josh pointed at them and said, "You're the ones who battled in Littleroot Town a couple of days ago!"

James said, "Yeah, we battled in Littleroot a couple of days ago, but why do you know that?"

"You two are the reason I ran away from Littleroot Town! If you hadn't decided to battle right outside Birch's lab, then there would have been no reason for me to run away!"

Jessie then said, "Well, it's not entirely our fault! If that twerp," she said pointing at Kyle, "had given us what we wanted, a big battle would not have happened!"

Kyle then said, "I told you three already, I don't have Absol with me!"

Caryl looked at Jessie and James and said, "You three were trying to steal Kyle's Absol? You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Suddenly, they noticed that Team Rocket had something else on them…

Caryl gasped and said, "You three have Ralts in a cage! Let him go!"

"Hmmm… no. We captured Ralts fair and square, he's ours!"

Josh then said, "The way Ralts sent out a distress signal a few moments ago seems to suggest otherwise!"

"Is dat what that throbbing pain was?" Meowth said.

"I wondered why we all got headaches at the same time…" James said.

Josh stepped up and said, "Okay, you three. You want to prove you're not losers? I'll take you on."

Josh pulled a Poke Ball off his belt and yelled, "Go, Poochyena!"

A small black dog appeared in front of Josh and barked.

Kyle suddenly stepped up and said, "I'll help you, Josh. Go, Toaster!"

Kyle sent out a small orange bird. "Torchic!"

This latest Pokemon to appear caused Caryl to squeal in delight. "Ooooh. That Pokemon is soooo cute!!!"

Kyle said, "That Pokemon is Torchic, Caryl…"

Caryl ran onto the battlefield and began to hug Toaster tightly.

Team Rocket sweatdropped at the sight of Caryl hugging Torchic.

Kyle then said, "I would go squeezing him that hard…"

Caryl said, "Why? It wouldn't do anything to hurt me, now would it?"

Toaster responded by blowing an ember attack right in Caryl's face.

Her face turned black, and then she said, "It burns… but in a good way…"

And then she fainted, causing everyone to sweatdrop.

A couple of minutes later, she got up again, smiled innocently, and got off the battlefield.

Jessie said, "Now, let's get back to the business of battling…"

Kyle yelled, "Toaster, Ember attack!"

A cloud of small yellow bubbles filled with fire was shot at Weezing and did some damage.

Jessie said, "Arbok, Poison Sting attack!"

A bunch of white needles came out of Arbok, aimed at Poochyena.

Josh yelled, "Poochyena, dodge those needles, and move in for a Bite attack!"

Poochyena nimbly dodged all of Arbok's attacks, and bit Arbok in the tail, causing Arbok to slither around screaming in pain, Poochyena hanging on the whole time.

Kyle saw an opportunity while Arbok was distracted. "Toaster, tackle Arbok!"

Torchic ran right at the big purple snake, striking it right in its "mane", making Poochyena let go, sending Arbok flying at Weezing, who then flew into Team Rocket.

Kyle yelled, "Toaster, finish them off with an Ember!"

The orange bubbles hit Team Rocket and an explosion occurred, during which, Ralts went flying and Caryl caught it.

"I knew this was going to happen…" James moaned.

"It always has to end like this…" Jessie complained.

"So much for da power of positive tinking…" Meowth said.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

And as a sparkle appeared in the sky, they could hear, "Woooooobaaaa!"

Josh celebrated his first Pokemon Victory with Poochyena. Kyle congratulated Torchic. Then, Kyle said to Josh, "Hey, Josh. That Poochyena you have is very cool."

Josh nodded and said, "Thank you, Kyle."

Kyle said, "Maybe I'll have one too someday…"

Josh replied, "Perhaps. One never knows what's around the bend…"

Caryl then said to Ralts, "Are you okay, little buddy?"

Ralts responded by smiling and saying, "Ralts, ralts!"

Caryl then could tell that Ralts was happy being with her and said, "Do you want to come with me?"

Ralts nodded in agreement.

Caryl pulled out a Poke Ball and "officially" caught Ralts.

Caryl then got the urge to yell, "Yay! I caught Ralts, eh?"

Then, Caryl got the urge to yell, "Why do I keep doing that?!"

Narrator: And so, thanks to Caryl's kindness and general positive attitude, she has a new friend in Ralts. Who will be next to capture a Pokemon? We'll find out as our heroes continue on their journey to Rustboro City.

Next Time: Kyle is a little jealous of Caryl because she didn't have to put out any effort to capture Ralts and tears off on his own. Will he succeed in catching his first Hoenn Pokemon? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	7. Ep 7: A Taillow for the Ages

Digicross Advanced Episode 7: "A Taillow for the Ages"

Episode co-written by Kyle Evanick and Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find out heroes inside of Petalburg Woods, a large forest outside of Petalburg City, as they continue on their way toward Rustboro City.

Kyle, Ryo, Caryl, Josh and Casey were taking a short break in a clearing in the middle of Petalburg Woods.

Kyle glared sharply at Caryl and her new Ralts. "You do realize Caryl sees you, right Kyle?" Ryo asked.

"I know, I know! She didn't even 'catch' Ralts! He just went with her..."

Ryo shook his head. "Not ALL Pokemon are caught normally. Some just like their trainer enough to go with them."

Kyle turned to where Noble and Toaster were sitting down. "C'mon, you two! We're going to catch a new Pokemon! Let's go!" The two female Pokemon followed Kyle as he ran deeper in the woods.

Josh looked at the exchange with a worried look on his face. "Shouldn't we go after him? What if he gets in trouble?"

Casey shrugged. "That's like trying to stop the tide, Joshy boy."

It wasn't long before Casey's words started another argument between the pair.

Ryo palmed his face in embarrassment, and Caryl continued to play with Ralts.

-10 minutes later-

Ryo and Caryl got sick of hearing Josh and Casey argue, again, and so pulled them apart.

"Do you two do anything but argue?" Ryo asked Josh.

Both Josh and Casey yelled simultaneously, "NO!!!"

Caryl then intervened, "Well, maybe we should strike out after Kyle. Sitting here arguing all day isn't going to get us anywhere, eh?"

"WHY CAN'T I STOP DOING THAT!!!!!?" Caryl yelled in a very loud voice.

And so, at least for the moment, tensions died down as the four trainers proceeded after Kyle.

-45 Minutes Later-

Kyle and his Pokemon looked everywhere for a decent Pokemon but could only find Wurmple and the odd Slakoth. "Great. Just great! What does it take to find a decent Pokemon?"

"Pika?" Noble asked softly.

"I didn't catch Slakoth because they're too slow, and you can catch Wurmple almost anywhere. I want something that isn't so common and fast as well."

Kyle's stomach rumbled loudly, and then he sweatdropped and said, "I guess it's time for us to have lunch…"

Noble and Toaster nodded in agreement.

The three of them sat on a log and had lunch. As soon as Kyle put down his sandwich it disappeared like a ghost. "What the…?"

A small swallow-like bird appeared in the sky with some of his sandwich sticking out of his beak.

"Let's see..." Kyle said as he looked up his Pokedex.

"Taillow, the Tiny-Swallow Pokemon. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokemon will remain defiant even after a loss. On the other hand, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry."

Kyle looked at the small bird. "So that's a Taillow... I'd heard they don't back down no matter how strong their foe is. I've also heard they're very territorial and aggressive too. I'm gonna catch it! Toaster go!" The small fire type jumped on Taillow's back fiercely.

"Toaster, Scratch now!" The chick unleashed a scratch on Taillow forcing him to the ground. "Finish it! Ember now!" Toaster unleashed a flurry of tiny fireballs and struck Taillow hard as he struggled to get up.

Kyle looked down as he saw Taillow had on orange mark on his belly. "Hmm. That attack must've caused a Burn. All right. Poke Ball, go!" The dot on the Poke Ball turned red as it shook around. After it shook three times, the red glow faded and Kyle grabbed the ball. He made an Ash-like pose. "I did it! I caught Taillow! My very first Pokemon in the Hoenn region!"

Toaster shook her head as if to say 'What am I? Chopped liver?'. Noble just sighed at the rather bad pose he made.

Suddenly, Kyle could hear voices behind him.

"Hey, Kyle!"

Kyle looked behind him to find the other Digidestined had come. At first, Kyle was quite happy to see them, and planned on telling them about how he caught a Taillow, but, suddenly, something grabbed his attention and refused to let go.

He had looked in the direction of Casey and saw a very unusual sight… Josh had been collared and cuffed.

Kyle could only stare and mutter a, "How in the…?"

Josh shook his head and said, "You really don't want to know…"

Flashback, 30 minutes earlier

As the remaining Digidestined moved through Petalburg Woods, Josh, Caryl and Ryo all stayed quite a bit away from Casey, who was obviously steaming over Kyle's sudden departure.

"Ooooh!!! That Kyle Evanick! When we find him, I'll make sure he knows that he can't do that!"

Caryl asked, "What exactly can you do to him, Casey?"

Josh said, tongue in cheek, "Yeah. It's not exactly like you can just smack Kyle with a bat, or something like that."

Casey said, "Don't worry about that, you two. Besides, if I wanted to smack someone with a bat, it would have been you, Josh…"

Josh yelled, "Hey!"

Casey turned around and said, "As I said before, don't worry about that. I brought something which I planned to use if Kyle got a little… out of hand."

All three trainers looked at Casey in confusion as she opened her bag and revealed something that no one expected… a pair of handcuffs.

Ryo said flatly, "You brought handcuffs with you?"

Caryl thought, 'Hmmm… I wonder why I didn't think of that…'

Josh looked with bewilderment at the two metal cuffs which Casey now held in her hand.

Then, Josh said sheepishly, "Ummm… I've never seen those before…"

Casey looked at Josh surprisingly. "You're kidding! You've never seen handcuffs before?"

Josh said meekly, "Nope. Can I look at them for a moment?"

Casey, still in shock, agreed and handed them to Josh.

Josh then proceeded to fiddle with the cuffs. Looking at them, seeing how one got a cuff open and closed again, pulling the short chain between them, and just about anything else one could do without actually putting them on oneself.

Ryo and Caryl couldn't help but stare at Josh's pure confusion at the sight of these handcuffs. However, Casey soon grew weary of Josh playing with them.

"Look, Josh. Do you want me to show you how these handcuffs work?"

Josh, though reluctant to say anything which might cause him trouble, let his curiosity get the better of him and said, "Okay, fine."

Casey took the cuffs from Josh, quickly forced Josh's hands behind his back, and locked them inside the metal cuffs. It happened so fast that Josh had little time to react, and as a result, found himself without the use of his hands.

Ryo palmed his face in his hand, and Caryl simply continued to stare at the incident.

Josh yelled, "Hey! What was that for, Casey?"

Casey said, in a matter-of-fact tone, "Well, Josh, you said you wanted to see how these handcuffs worked. And they work muuuch better when your hands are locked behind your back."

As Josh began to yell at Casey, Caryl suddenly got an idea and opened her backpack.

Casey then covered Josh's mouth for a moment and said, "If you argue with me, you'll only be in those handcuffs longer. And let's face facts, you can't do anything to defend yourself while wearing them, so I'd suggest you shut up right about now."

At that moment, Josh noticed Caryl reaching into her bag. Suddenly, Josh had a memory of a few days prior and thought, 'No… Anything but that…'

Caryl then pulled out the collar and leash that she brought to threaten Ryo. Josh shook his head and thought, 'I knew it…'

Casey asked, "Why did you bring that out, Caryl?"

"Isn't it obvious, Casey? I'm going to make Josh easier to control for you!"

Josh struggled against his bonds and even tried to run away, only to get pinned down by Casey. Caryl then secured the blue collar around Josh's neck and attached the leash. She then gave the leash over to Casey and smiled brightly.

Casey couldn't help but smile evilly, knowing that Josh was now entirely hers.

It was then that Josh noticed for the first time that the collar actually had a tag on it which read: "Ryo Akiyama, Property of Caryl".

Casey pulled on Josh's leash and he was forced to follow her, much to his displeasure…

End Flashback

They would have loved to hear more of why Josh was in the predicament he was in, but they suddenly heard numerous cries from the bushes.

"Taillow!"

"Taillow!"

"Taillow!"

Kyle instantly recognized the cries. "Those are Taillow! Maybe that one I caught was part of a flock!"

As if on cue, a flock of at least 30 Taillow flew out of the bushes right at the five of them. After Ryo screamed, "Run," they ran very quickly, barely managing to outpace the Taillow. In an ironic twist of fate, Josh ran so fast, that Casey ended up hanging on to Josh's leash for dear life.

"Josh, slow down!" came the cries from a scared Casey.

"Do you really want to get pecked by those Taillow?"

"No, but I don't want to hang on to your leash for dear life, either, Joshua!"

As the Digidestined trainers continued to run away from the flock of Taillow, Team Rocket came up out of the bushes.

"Look at those twerps running away from that flock of Taillow." Jessie said.

"I wonder what they did to piss those birds off so much." James said.

"Who cares? We gotta catch 'dose boids!" Meowth said.

"Why, Meowth?" Jessie asked in a loud tone. "They're just a bunch of stinking birds!"

"Just imagine how happy da Boss will be…"

-Pipe Dream-

Giovanni, also known as "The Boss" of Team Rocket was sleeping, when a set of loud noises entered the bedroom. It was the Taillow, acting as Giovanni's "alarm clock".

Giovanni woke up happily and got up to get ready for the day. And for breakfast, he had berries especially picked for him by his flock of Taillow.

It was then that Giovanni said, in Meowth's voice, "This is all thanks to Meowth and his friends! They should be promoted to executives and given a big raise immediately!"

-End Pipe Dream-

Suddenly, Jessie and James were very excited about the prospect of catching the Taillow flock, for no other reason than the potential for a promotion after many years of failure.

"We'll finally get what's coming to us!" Jessie exclaimed.

"After all these years of pain and suffering, it's about time we caught a break!" James said.

Pop! "Wobbuuuuhhh!"

-5 minutes later-

The five trainers continued to run from the unrelenting flock of Taillow. Even though they had been running almost non-stop for the last five minutes, the Taillow were still hot on their trail.

Josh yelled, "Do these Taillow ever quit?!"

Kyle responded, "They're very territorial, and once they feel that someone is encroaching in their territory, they won't stop pursuit."

Casey, still hanging off Josh's leash was not too thrilled with that answer. "What?!"

Suddenly, they could hear a giant vacuum start up in the background.

Ryo yelled over the vacuum, "What's that?"

The Taillow flock in mid-air was pulled into the vacuum and landed in the belly of a giant mechanoid which looked like a Heracross. The Taillow landed in a sticky substance inside the Heracross which looked like honey or tree sap, trapping the Taillow inside.

The Taillow were still clearly visible to the five trainers. Kyle yelled, "Let those Taillow go, now!"

Then, a voice boomed out of a loudspeaker near where Heracross's mouth should be.

"Prepare for trouble, we've got the birds!"

"And make it double, we're moving upwards!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

As this last line was uttered, a hole appeared in the top of the Heracross mech and Team Rocket appeared.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Kyle reiterated his last comment and said, "Team Rocket, you'd better let those Taillow go!"

Jessie said smugly, "The way I see it, we did you twerps a favor. You were doing nothing but running from those Taillow anyway."

James said in the same smug tone, "Now, we get what we want, a large Pokemon catch, and you get to go in peace."

Suddenly, Meowth noticed Josh in his current get-up. "Hey! One of 'dose twerps is all tied up!"

James and Jessie stared at Josh in his leash and handcuffs, and proceeded to laugh their heads off for a couple minutes while Josh turned completely red out of embarrassment.

After they recovered, Jessie said, "We should look at the upside here. There's one less twerp for us to worry about!"

Kyle then pulled out three Poke Balls. "We'll be more than enough for you three! Go Toaster, Noble and Taillow!"

Torchic, Pikachu, and Kyle's newest Pokemon, Taillow all appeared in front of Kyle. Since this was the first time the other trainers had seen Kyle's new Pokemon, they were quick to congratulate Kyle for capturing Taillow.

Kyle then said, "There's no time to celebrate now!" He looked to Toaster and Taillow and said, "You two, get the Taillow out of that giant Heracross's belly."

Taillow and Toaster nodded in acknowledgement, than Toaster jumped on Taillow's back and Taillow took off at full speed, aiming to shatter the glass keeping the Taillow trapped.

Meowth had the state of mind to activate one of Heracross's other functions, spitting the same sticky substance at Taillow and Torchic.

Kyle yelled, "Dodge the honey Heracross is spitting out!"

Of course, Taillow really didn't need to be told that, because it was avoiding the substance pretty effectively anyway.

A few moments later, Taillow smashed into the glass at full speed, causing it to shatter, and the honey to pour out of Heracross's belly.

Team Rocket screamed at this turn of events. "Meowth! Couldn't we get a more sturdy glass to hold in those Taillow?!" Jessie yelled.

Meowth said sheepishly, "Sorry, Jess, but we spent all our money on building the mech itself and giving it all those features…"

Kyle suddenly yelled, "Noble! Hit that mech with Thunderbolt!"

"Pika… chuuuuuuuu!!!" was the cry from Noble as she fried Team Rocket and the mech. Before too long, it blew up…

"Are we ever going to win?!" Jessie exclaimed.

"We couldn't even win with one twerp disabled, so I'm thinking…" James lamented.

"That our chances went up in smoke."

"We're blasting off again!" Ding!

Kyle then ordered Toaster to burn off the honey with Ember, freeing the Taillow flock in the process. The Taillow approached their "leader", which happened to be Kyle's newest Pokemon.

After a few moments, the Taillow cawed in appreciation at Kyle. Even though Kyle didn't know what they were saying, he knew the feeling of gratitude and nodded in acknowledgement.

The Taillow then flew off, ready to continue their lives in the absence of their leader.

Ryo said, "You really did an awesome job today, Kyle."

Kyle nodded and said, "Thanks a lot, Ryo."

Noble, Toaster and Taillow all mirrored Ryo's sentiment by tackling Kyle playfully. They all laughed for a moment before Kyle returned his Pokemon to their Poke Balls and they continued on their way.

-20 minutes later-

Josh continued to follow Casey reluctantly, even though he really had no choice in the matter thanks to his situation. It was then that Kyle decided to speak up.

"Casey, shouldn't you be letting Josh go pretty soon?"

"Why should I? After all, Josh got himself into this situation, he should get himself out."

Ryo said in Josh's defense, "That may be. But, Josh didn't know what he was doing at the time. It's about time you let him go."

Kyle said in a low tone, "Besides, if you have Josh in that getup, how are you going to be able to get back at me if I do something like I did today again?

Casey contemplated the situation, and then decided, "Well, Josh, today is your lucky day."

Casey went behind Josh and unlocked his hands from the handcuffs. Then she took off Josh's leash and Ryo's collar around Josh's neck.

"I'm feeling pretty nice today, Josh. If I was in a bad mood, you might have been like that for days, instead of a couple of hours like today."

Josh would have said something, but he didn't want to end up like before.

Casey then began to yell at him, "Hey! Why aren't you thanking me, Josh?"

"Why should I thank you for releasing me from a bind I never asked to be put in the first place, Casey?"

"Because I could have easily left you there for a couple of days, Joshy boy!"

"What did you call me, Casey?!"

And yet another argument between the two broke out. Which seems like it's every day that those two get into an argument.

Narrator: And so, Kyle has made a new friend in Taillow and gained the respect of Taillow's former flock. Josh has experienced the horror of helplessness and Casey has known what it's like to be dominant over someone. But, will this new tension cause the already rocky relationship between Josh and Casey to sour? Only time will tell as our heroes continue on their journey in Hoenn!

-Meanwhile…-

Up in a nearby tree, Team Rocket was lamenting their latest loss.

"We were so close that time!" Jessie yelled.

"Maybe so, but we found a way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory!" Meowth observed.

Jessie was about to smack Meowth for that comment when she spied a Wurmple on a nearby branch.

Jessie did something completely out of character and squealed happily. "Oooooo! That Pokemon is so cute!"

Meowth and James looked over and saw Wurmple. "Dat is a Wurmple. That's just a bug."

"It's not just a bug, Meowth! It's cute!" Jessie pulled out a Poke Ball and threw it at Wurmple, without battling it or anything. Normally, this wouldn't have worked very well, but today was Jessie's lucky day as Wurmple was caught instantly.

Jessie was quite happy. "I caught a Wurmple!"

However, the elation was short lived, as Wobbuffet chose that moment to come out. "Wobba!"

Wobbuffet's weight was too much, and the branch broke beneath them. "Ahhh!!!"

The last thing anyone heard of them that day was a loud thud on the forest floor.

Next Episode: Pretty petals and cactus like Pokemon await our heroes as they continue toward their first Gym in Rustboro City. Will the Pretty Petal Flower Shop prove to be useful to the Digidestined trainers? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!


	8. Ep 8: The Blooms of Cacnea

Digicross Advanced Episode 8: "The Blooms of Cacnea"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes outside a small building not far outside of Petalburg Woods. This building appears to have several groves of trees behind it, and the Digidestined trainers decide to take a look for themselves.

As the trainers walked inside the building, they were treated to a nice sight, numerous flowers and plants all around the room.

"Wow… What pretty flowers." Caryl remarked.

Josh chose that moment to nudge Ryo lightly. "You know, maybe Caryl would like some flowers. I don't know much about women, but I do think that it would be nice to get her something."

Ryo looked at Josh and said, "Like I don't know that already, Josh! I'm just trying to figure out which ones to give her…"

Casey then looked at Kyle and said, "You know, it might be nice to get some flowers for a certain someone…"

Kyle looked at her and said, "Get flowers? For you? In your dreams, Casey."

"What did you say?!"

And thus began another argument, and as they began to argue, Caryl grabbed onto Ryo and said in a cherry voice, "Ryo, dear, would you get me some flowers?"

Ryo, who was still deciding which flowers to get, told Caryl that he'd get some flowers for her.

As this scene was going on, and as Josh looked over at all of them, he simply shook his head and thought, 'I'm sure glad I missed out on a girlfriend. If all girls that like you are like Caryl or Casey…'

The owner of the shop heard the commotion between Casey and Kyle and came to the front desk from a back room. She was a pretty girl who also happened to be a savvy businesswoman. She also appeared highly distracted.

"Would you please stop yelling?" she asked politely.

Josh and Ryo, after he got Caryl off of him, separated Kyle and Casey and tried to calm them down. It was fortunate that Josh had pulled Kyle away instead of Casey, because surely another argument would have come of that situation.

Ryo bowed to the woman and said, "I apologize for our two friends over here. This probably isn't the place to be arguing about petty things like those two were."

The woman behind the counter than said, "Normally, I wouldn't care, but lately, there's been a big problem which is giving me a monstrous headache."

Josh, in his hatred for evil and eagerness to help people had to inquire about what was going on.

The woman then went on to explain that over the past few days, someone had been coming in at night and stealing her berries. Of course, since berries were not very common in Kanto or even Johto, they were generally clueless about what she meant.

She proceeded to pull out 5 fairly large yellow berries with orange spots out of a drawer behind the counter.

"These are Sitrus Berries. They have a balanced flavor which is supposed to taste sort of like citrus fruit, except without the sometimes excessive sourness."

Each of the five Digidestined trainers took a berry from her hand and ate it. Almost immediately, they made faces of happiness at the remarkably good berry.

"This is almost like eating a lolly!" Caryl exclaimed.

Even though none of them knew what she meant entirely, they all agreed that it was a delicious berry.

Ryo remarked, "I can certainly see why those berries are sought after." He then added as an aside, "Do you know who is stealing your berries?"

The woman shook her head and said, "No. All I can hear at night is someone eating berries."

"Eating?" Kyle asked.

"Yes. Someone out there eating the berries off the trees."

Josh thought about it for a few moments, then said, "It sounds to me like some sort of wild Pokemon is eating your berries."

Ryo asked, "How do you figure, Josh? We don't know much about these berries after all."

The owner said, "It makes sense that a wild Pokemon would be eating my berries. I think I failed to mention that Pokemon can benefit from these berries, so it's completely possible that a wild Pokemon is eating my berries."

Josh than said, "Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to stick around here tonight and see if we can catch the culprit in action."

The other trainers, after some persuasion by Josh, agreed to help out this young lady in need.

"We'll stick around tonight and help you get that berry eater." Josh said.

The young lady then realized something. "I haven't even properly introduced myself. I'm Marianne, the owner of the Pretty Petal Flower Shop."

The others went on to introduce themselves to Marianne.

Behind a bush near the door, Team Rocket popped up with other ideas…

"Did you hear 'dat? We can steal all 'dose berries for ourselves!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Hmph. I don't see why we need berries to help us out." Jessie scowled.

"Maybe we could open up a baked goods shop and make treats using those berries…" James thought out loud.

Jessie perked up at that idea. "Yeah. If we steal enough of those berries, we can make a killing at the market selling fruit pies!"

Pop! "Wobba! Wobba!"

James cried, "We'll finally be rich enough to retire from this business of villainy and not have to deal with Pokemon ever again!"

Meowth said, "I 'tink you got the wrong idea, Jimmy. We can take that money and create bigger and better contraptions to trap Pokemon and sell them off on 'da black market for even more money!"

Jessie and James, not surprisingly, were thrilled at the idea of having more money than they knew what to do with. They decided to try and steal an entire orchard worth of berries overnight. While the "twerps" were distracted with the Pokemon, they would be elsewhere in the grove, picking oodles of berries to put in their fruit pies.

-Later that night-

While most of the trainers had gone to sleep, Josh, who had been the most adamant about the idea, was staying up trying to hear the telltale sound of berries being eaten. Josh saw this not only as an opportunity to help someone, which was a great thing in and of itself, but also to catch a new Pokemon before his Gym battle in Rustboro City.

It took a couple of hours before those noises started to come from the grove out back. Josh had been given a key to access the grove, so he unlocked the door and went into the back and looked and listened for the Pokemon in question.

When Team Rocket heard the door, they saw it as their cue to start picking berries. For once in their life, things were going well. They were remaining quiet and picking berries rather efficiently.

Nearby, however, the Pokemon in question was eating a berry, but suddenly saw something purple and looked delicious… and went to investigate.

Josh looked about, but the berry eating noises had ceased. Josh was about to go back inside when he heard a loud scream in the distance, "YEEOOOOOW!"

Josh sprinted in the direction of the noise as the lights inside the shop turned on, indicating that he might be getting a little backup pretty soon.

Suddenly, Josh saw a very unusual sight. No, it wasn't the fact that Jessie, James and Meowth were trying to pilfer berries, but the fact that a green cactus-like Pokemon was lodged on James's face.

"Get this thing off me!" James cried.

Jessie and Meowth looked at each other as if to say, "I ain't touching that!"

Suddenly Josh yelled out, "Hey!" Team Rocket turned to see the "twerp" who had been chained up a few days earlier. James also finally managed to get the offending Pokemon off his face.

"Prepare for trouble, we're picking up sweets!"

"And make it double, so we can be beats!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all people within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket gets lots of berries for our pie!"

"Surrender now, or we won't let you give them a try!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

Josh jumped to conclusions a little early and said, "So it was you three who was causing all the trouble!"

Jessie said, "We wish. We were trying to take advantage of the problems caused by the berry eating Pokemon, but instead it ended up trying to eat James's face!"

Josh looked down and saw the little green cactus Pokemon and pulled out Pokedex…

"Cacnea, the Cactus Pokemon. This Pokemon releases a strong scent from its flower to attract prey. It is normally found in arid areas."

Josh wondered out loud, "I wonder what a Cacnea is doing in this area?"

Cacnea chose to answer that question… by jumping back on James's face.

James yelled out as the other Digidestined ran up and joined Josh.

Caryl yelled, "Leave that poor Pokemon alone!"

James yelled back, "I wish I could comply, but this Pokemon likes eating my face!"

They all sweatdropped as James ran around like a ninny trying to remove Cacnea from his face. In desperation, James tossed a Poke Ball at his face and to everyone's surprise, Cacnea was instantly caught.

Ryo wanted to say something, but was cut off by Marianne showing gratitude for getting rid of the Pokemon who was causing her problems.

"Thank you very much! Thanks to you, I won't have to worry about my crops being eaten anymore!" Marianne almost hugged James, but stopped when she saw the berries lying on the ground.

"You… you're trying to steal my berries!"

"No… we're trying to pick your berries for our delicious fruit pies." Jessie said in a manner-of-fact voice.

"Then we'll sell them a big old bake sale and make a huge profit!" Meowth exclaimed.

"And then Team Rocket will be right back on top again!"

All three yelled simultaneously, "We'll be rich, rich, rich!"

The Digidestined were about to pull out some Pokemon, but Marianne cut Team Rocket a deal. "Since you removed the Cacnea from my grove, I'll let you keep all the berries you have right now if you'll just leave."

Normally, Team Rocket would have declined such an offer, but seeing as the "twerps" they were having so much trouble defeating were standing right there, they accepted Marianne's offer and took the berries and ran.

"Looks like we come out on top for once!" Jessie cried excitedly.

"We're going to make a fortune!" Meowth said.

"Or at least enough money to keep going after the twerps!"

"Team Rocket's laughing all the way to the bank!"

Ryo looked at Marianne strangely and asked, "Why did you give Team Rocket so many of your berries?"

Marianne looked at Ryo and replied, "Simple. You wouldn't want to do something without getting something in return. They did a service, albeit without them knowing it, for me and I simply rewarded them."

Marianne looked at Josh and said with a smile on her face, "And you did a decent job of investigating the cause of my problems. I'll have a reward for you in the morning."

The Digidestined were more than happy to return inside and get some sleep.

-Next Morning-

Marianne stood behind the counter refreshed, having slept a full night's sleep for the first time in days. The Digidestined also were quite refreshed after sleeping in beds for the first time in a couple of weeks (-ed The Flower Shop also doubles as an Inn) and all were in a good mood.

"Josh," Marianne said from behind the counter, "I decided you get two gifts."

Marianne pulled a small pouch from behind the counter and a bouquet of flowers.

"This pouch contains a variety of berries for you and your friends use."

Josh took the pouch and thanked Marianne.

She then offered Josh the bouquet of flowers, calling them her finest quality flowers. Josh took the bouquet and then gave them to Ryo.

Ryo then gave them to Caryl, and she was delighted. She smelled the flowers and said, "Wow, these smell really good, eh?" This, of course, was followed by an ear-piercing scream.

As the trainers left the shop, they waved good-bye to Marianne, the charming owner of the Pretty Petal Flower Shop.

Narrator: And so, our heroes learned about the importance of berries, and James caught himself a new Pokemon. But, will things go so swimmingly when our heroes finally arrive in Rustboro City? The answers await just over the horizon…

-Meanwhile…-

Team Rocket had hidden themselves in an abandoned kitchen outside of Rustboro City. They were going to bake their fruit pies here and then sell them within the city limits. However…

"Come on James, we don't have all day here!" Jessie screamed.

"We're real hungry out here!" Meowth exclaimed.

James yelled back, "Patience, you two. Good food doesn't cook itself, you know."

A few minutes later, a ding could be heard from the kitchen.

"Ah, my first ever fruit pies is done." James said with pride.

He brought the pie out to the table where Jessie and Meowth were sitting. Without even waiting for James to get clear of the pie, Jessie and Meowth grabbed a slice and shoved it down their throats, clearly very hungry. However, a few moments later, their looks of happiness turned to bitter faces as they tasted the pie for the first time.

"James! What did you put into this pie?!" Jessie asked loudly.

"Well, you know. A little of this, a little of that…"

"You idiot! You ended up creating a completely horrible pie!" As Jessie said this, she shoved a piece of pie into James's mouth to illustrate her point. He, of course, spat out the pie in a matter of seconds.

"We'll be washing out our mouths for weeks and still taste that dumb pie!" Meowth cried.

"Team Rocket needs some mouthwash…"

Next Time: Kyle is looking to get any edge he can over Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader. Will he be able to find that advantage, and will it be enough to topple Roxanne? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!


	9. Ep 9: Taillow's Wings of Steel

Digicross Advanced Episode 9: "Taillow's Wings of Steel"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes on the outskirts of Rustboro City, as their first Gym Battle fast approaches. However, some are not too confident in their chances of defeating Roxanne…

The Digidestined were in an open field just outside the boundaries of Rustboro City, and were "talking shop", trying to figure out Rustboro's Gym Leader.

Caryl asked, "Josh, what does that guidebook you picked up in Petalburg say about the Gym Leader here?"

Josh had completely forgotten about the guidebook. He pulled it out of his backpack and proceeded to open it to Rustboro City.

"Let's see here… Ah, here we go. Rustboro's Gym Leader is a young lady named Roxanne. According to this, she likes using Rock-type Pokemon."

Ryo recalled, "Ah. Just like Brock of Pewter City in the Kanto League."

Josh then said, "Aren't Grass types like my Treecko effective against Rock-types?"

"That's true, Josh. Casey and her Mudkip will also do well. Charmeleon and Swinub may be weak against Roxanne by type, but they both have moves which can counter her."

Kyle then said, "But my Pokemon don't have that advantage, or anything which makes me confident that I can defeat her."

Ryo said, "Relax, Kyle. While it may be true that you don't have any Pokemon which can counter Rock-types, remember that Noble isn't particularly weak to Rock-types, and that there may still be some time to teach one of your other Pokemon to counter Roxanne's Pokemon."

Kyle asked, "How? I thought the only method Pokemon learned moves they don't learn naturally was by Technical Machine."

An unknown voice responded, "Well, that's mostly true." The trainers looked over to see a young man standing there. "Pokemon do learn new moves via Technical Machine, but there are also people in this world who can teach Pokemon new moves like me."

Kyle then asked the obvious question, "Who are you and what can you do to help my Pokemon?"

The young man answered, "My name is Rick, and although I normally hand out TM's to people passing into Rustboro City, I am also a fairly accomplished Move Tutor."

Rick moved toward the group, and Josh in particular. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier. Did you say you had a Treecko?"

Josh responded with a simple nod. With that, Rick pulled out his backpack, scrounged through it, and came up with a box.

"Here," Rick said as he handed Josh the box. "This TM contains Bullet Seed, a fairly powerful Grass-type move. It should help your Treecko out until it can learn something more powerful on its own."

Josh accepted the TM and thanked Rick, proceeding to go off on his own to try out the new move on Blade.

Meanwhile, Kyle had ask Rick, "Do you have anything TM's which will help out one of my Pokemon?"

Rick shook his head and said, "Sadly, the Bullet Seed TM is the only one I stock."

Kyle was about to get up and leave, but Rick said, "However, I think I can teach your Pokemon some handy Steel-type moves which might help you in defeating Roxanne."

Ryo then mirrored Rick's comment about Steel-type attacks being effective against the Rock-type.

Kyle became excited, because he could help his Pokemon become stronger.

Ryo, Caryl and Casey all got up, waiting to see what Rick could do to help Kyle.

Rick asked, "So… Kyle. What Pokemon do you have?"

"I have Noble, a Pikachu…"

Rick answered, "I could teach Noble Iron Tail, if you want."

"Nah… I'm using Noble when she's at the smallest disadvantage possible."

Rick said, "Okay. So who else do you have?"

Kyle answered, "I have Toaster, a Torchic."

"I can't do much with a Torchic. Any more?"

"Well, I do have a new Taillow I caught a while back."

"That Pokemon I can work with. Taillow can learn Steel Wing, a pretty strong Steel-type attack which might be able to turn the tables on Roxanne."

Kyle smiled at this. He was wondering how Taillow would do in his team, and now he had his answer. "Let's do it."

Nearby, Josh was preparing Blade to "accept" Bullet Seed and have him try the move out himself.

Team Rocket, hanging out in a conveniently placed bush, were observing the fact that Josh, the twerp who kept them from stealing every berry in that orchard, was now all alone.

"Maybe we can steal that twerp's Pokemon while he's separated from the others." Jessie suggested.

"Maybe we can steal the twerp and use him to bait the others." Meowth said.

"Maybe we can steal the twerp and use him to do our dirty work…" James suggested.

This, of course, got strange looks from Jessie and Meowth, as that plan was clearly half-baked.

However, they weren't going to be doing much stealing of anything, because at that moment, Josh, having finished the "download" of data into Treecko's mind, asked Blade to "try and use Bullet Seed on that conveniently placed bush".

Of course, this was the bush Team Rocket was hiding in, and this attack turned out to be far stronger than what Josh expected, because they ended up flying out of the bush.

Josh observed, "Wow… Team Rocket was in that bush? And Bullet Seed blasted them off?!" Josh turned to Blade and said, "Well, I guess you don't know your own strength, there, buddy."

Blade simply nodded as if to say, "That's a pretty strong attack."

"We didn't even get to do anything in this episode!" Jessie screamed.

"We seem to be even more useless than when we were going after that Pikachu…" James lamented.

"I think we've hit rock bottom…" Meowth said.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Josh recalled Blade and went over to see how things were going with Rick.

Meanwhile, nearby, Kyle had already called out his Taillow and was about to receive instruction from Rick on how to teach him Steel Wing.

"Steel Wing is a pretty strong Steel-type attack which should give you a fighting chance against Roxanne's Rock-type Pokemon."

Rick pulled out a Poke Ball. "Go, Skarmory!"

A giant steel-plated bird appeared before them. The other trainers were impressed by Skarmory. "Skarmory, use Steel Wing to smash that rock!"

Skarmory rose into the air as her wings began to glow brightly. Then, she swooped down and hit the rock dead on with her wings. The rock was almost instantly smashed into pieces.

Kyle and Taillow were instantly impressed by the attack. "Well, let's give it a try on that rock," he said as he pointed at another nearby rock.

Taillow nodded and went up into the air. His wings were glowing, much like Skarmory's a few moments ago. Taillow flew at the rock, but unfortunately lost focus along the way. As a result, his wings stopped glowing, and Taillow ran into the rock and fell down.

Kyle immediately ran over and asked Taillow if he was okay. Taillow was a little hurt, but was more than willing to continue to work at it. Ryo then reiterated what Kyle already knew, that Taillow was very stubborn, and wouldn't quit until he learned Steel Wing. Kyle nodded and they proceeded to get ready to try it again.

Just then, Josh came over from his "training" session with Blade. Rick turned to him and asked, "How did Treecko like that new TM?"

Josh simply smiled and responded, "He's taken to the new move quite well, I'd say."

Rick responded with a nod and a smile.

Josh then asked, "How are things going over here? Did you help Kyle yet?"

Kyle said, "Josh, we're trying to teach Taillow Steel Wing over here. But, the first run wasn't a success."

Ryo then observed, "Well, it's natural that a move not learned via TM would take some time to master."

Kyle then said, "Well, no time like the present! Taillow, rise into the air and use Steel Wing!"

Taillow once again rose into the air and his wings began to glow. As Taillow swooped down on the rock, he kept focus for a bit longer, but to really show he was learning what he needed to, Taillow managed to keep enough focus such that when he knew that Steel Wing wasn't going to work, or when his wings stopped glowing, he flew out of the way.

The other trainers were impressed by the fact that Taillow had so quickly gained the state of mind to dodge another problem. Kyle simply knew that Taillow was getting the hang of things. He was a plucky little Pokemon who was also fairly intelligent.

Kyle yelled at Taillow, "Let's try it again!"

Taillow nodded and began to focus once again. This time, the process of focusing took a little longer than before, but Kyle had a feeling that this was not a bad thing.

Taillow's wings shone a little brighter than they had on previous attempts, giving Kyle even more confidence that this was going to be the one.

Taillow flew at the ground, more focused than ever. He hit the rock with his Wings while they still glowed. The result was one of pure satisfaction for both Kyle and Taillow as almost immediately the rock broke into small pieces. It wasn't quite as effective as Skarmory's Steel Wing from earlier, but that was to be expected.

After all, Taillow had only just learned to use Steel Wing, and it would be awhile before it could be used to its fullest potential.

Taillow landed on Kyle's shoulder and chirped. Kyle was ecstatic at the prospect of Taillow now having a fighting chance against Roxanne. Josh was thrilled that Treecko could now take advantage of his Grass-type nature. Ryo was happy for both Josh and Kyle. Casey… could have cared less.

-A few minutes later-

With their work having been complete, Rick moved on, but not without being thanked by both Josh and Kyle for bringing out potential in both of their Pokemon. Rick then told them to look out down the road for more tutors like himself. They waved goodbye to Rick as he moved on. It was getting late, so it was decided that they would sleep out under the stars for one more night before entering Rustboro City.

Narrator: And so, our heroes sleep easy, knowing that they all have a fighting chance of winning their first Gym Battle in Rustboro City. But, only time will tell if they are successful in their attempt to take the first step on the road to the Hoenn League Championships.

-Back down where the Digidestined are sleeping-

Not all the Digidestined are sleeping at this moment. Caryl happens to be up at the moment, looking for something.

"Where the bugger is it?" she asked herself in a quiet voice.

A few minutes later, she found what she was looking for, Casey's backpack. Not surprisingly, it was right near Casey. Caryl pulled the backpack away, unzipped it and started sifting through it, a determined look on her face.

It became clear that she was looking for something in particular. A couple minutes later, she finally hit pay dirt. She pulled out… Casey's handcuffs and keys. She put the handcuffs and keys in her own backpack, and then rezipped and replaced Casey's backpack where it belonged.

Caryl thought to herself as she went back to her sleeping bag, 'With these in my possession, I should be able to make quite a difference in a couple people's lives…'

Next Time: The Digidestined finally arrive in Rustboro City, and find out that Pokemon Trainers are not the only people in the Hoenn region who work with Pokemon. Will this new knowledge change the course of one or more of the Digidestined? And what will Caryl do with those handcuffs? Maybe some of you don't want to know, but for the rest of you, "tune in" next time to Digicross Advanced!


	10. Ep 10: A Real Bind

Digicross Advanced Episode 10: "A Real Bind"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

As the Digidestined entered Rustboro City, they were fixated on the fact that the city was so big. Skyscrapers and buildings were everywhere. This was truly the largest city on this side of the continent. Or, at least that's what Josh's guidebook said.

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes entering Rustboro City. Home to Devon Corporation, the largest company and the Rustboro Academy, this was truly a city to behold. Of course, none of that stuff mattered to our heroes…

The Digidestined's first stop inside Rustboro City was the Rustboro Gym, of course. It was what Josh, Ryo, Casey and Kyle had been preparing themselves for the last few weeks. Caryl was planning to watch Ryo battle against Roxanne before she had to return home to continue school. However, all of those plans were derailed when they entered the main lobby of the Gym.

"I'm sorry, folks, but the Gym is closed today."

Caryl was, to say the least, less than thrilled. "What?! How am I supposed to watch Ryo battle, then? This is sure a fine little mess…"

Ryo very calmly asked the receptionist, "Why is the Gym closed today?"

The receptionist responded, "Roxanne, the Gym Leader here is lecturing over at Rustboro Academy."

Kyle had heard of the Academy in Rustboro before, and said, "Isn't that supposed to be an academic place?"

The receptionist said, "That's mostly true. What most people don't know is that Rustboro Academy is also home to one of the best Trainer's Schools the world has to offer. Roxanne is lecturing there today."

Kyle then expressed an interest to check out Rustboro Academy, if for no other reason than to check out the Trainer's School there. It, of course, was not the real reason he wanted to go there, but it would pass for a reason at that particular moment, considering that Roxanne was there.

And so, the Digidestined were seen a few moments later heading deeper into Rustboro City and toward Rustboro Academy.

-Rustboro Academy-

Team Rocket was out in front of the university reading the message board or "marquis" which stated events to happen there. What caught their attention today was the fact that Roxanne, the local Gym Leader, was lecturing at the university. The better news? The lecture was open to the public.

"Maybe we can go in there and get a few pointers so we can finally beat those twerps and get their Pokemon." James stated.

Jessie, however, had much bigger ideas. "Why steal their Pokemon, when we can steal Roxanne's Pokemon? Think about it, James. Whose Pokemon would be more powerful than a Gym Leader's Pokemon?"

"Not many people's, I'd imagine."

"Exactly, if we get our hands on that Gym Leader's Pokemon, we'll get big ups from the boss."

"And 'den Team Rocket will be back on top again!"

Pop! "Wobba!"

-A few minutes later-

The Digidestined arrived at Rustboro Academy, eager to see the Gym Leader in action.

Ryo asked the receptionist at the front of the building where Roxanne was lecturing. She pointed out a giant lecture hall not more than a few doors down. Than she revealed that the bottom half of the lecture hall was full, so they would have to go upstairs to the upper section of the lecture hall.

Before they could, they were asked to sign in so that they could keep track of who came in and who belonged to Rustboro Academy. They did so, and then went upstairs and saw lots of people there, listening intently to Roxanne's lecture.

"And so you see, people and Pokemon need to learn to coexist in harmony and peace. The same can also be said for those new creatures from the Kanto region, the Digimon. From what I've seen of them from my colleagues elsewhere, they are just as capable as Pokemon of coexisting with humans in this world.

"So it falls on us as Pokemon trainers and peace-loving people to not be afraid of these Digimon, but to do our best to embrace them and brace ourselves for the changes which are to come to this world in the coming years.

"And so I ask you here today to not be afraid of those children known as the Digidestined." Ryo, Caryl, Kyle, Casey and Josh were very surprised to be walking into a lecture about… them.

"Instead, thank them for the work they do, and help them out in their time of need. In this way, we can all be ready and willing to accept the changes which will come upon this world over the course of the next couple of decades. Thank you."

Roxanne stepped down from the podium to a large amount of applause from the present audience. The Digidestined were a little disappointed that they missed the majority of the lecture, but took heart in the fact that if Roxanne looked at the sign-up sheet, she might see a name which would strike her as familiar due to his fame.

And, indeed, a few moments later, Roxanne looked at her sign-in sheet and saw a very familiar name. Even though communication between Hoenn and the rest of the world was close to non-existent, the entire world knew of the excellent Pokemon trainer turned Digidestined, Ryo Akiyama.

Roxanne was, to say the least, surprised to find out that an actual Digidestined was listening to her lecture on the importance of the Digidestined going down the way. She decided to stick around a little bit longer and see if she could intercept Ryo and whoever he was traveling with on their way out.

A few minutes later, she got what she wanted at the Digidestined came down from the upper half of the lecture hall. She almost instantly recognized Ryo and pulled him and his friends aside into another room.

The impromptu meeting started with introductions all around and followed with Roxanne being a little overwhelmed by the fact that all five of the trainers now with her were Digidestined. She was also a little surprised by the fact these trainers did not have their Digimon with them.

"If you're Digidestined, why don't you have your Digimon with you?"

Kyle responded, "We'd really like to have our Digimon here."

Josh thought, 'Speak for yourself. I'm glad Digimon aren't able to be here right now…'

Ryo continued Kyle's thought, "But, the Digiports, those portals we Digidestined use to move about, are down in this region."

And Josh concluded, "And without the digital energy those portals provide, Digimon can't survive in the harsh climate of this world."

Casey interjected, "It sucks too. I wanted to bring Kunemon with me and see how we really did as a team. But, I think Meganium would have been a bit jealous…"

Roxanne nodded and said, "I see." As she looked around at all five trainers, she said, "So none of your Digimon can exist here in Hoenn?"

Caryl said, "That's not entirely true. Pokemon who have taken on the attributes of Digimon can exist here with no problem."

Ryo smacked his head with his hand and said, "Oh, that's right. Digital Pokemon can exist in this world without any difficulties."

Roxanne nodded again, this new development making complete and total sense to her. "Well, Pokemon originally lived here, so I guess it makes sense that Pokemon who adapted themselves to Digimon would be able to live here without fear.

She continued, "Speaking of Pokemon adaptation, there's a new type of competition which is taking Hoenn by storm."

Kyle looked up and asked her was the competition was.

She replied, "It's the Pokemon Contest circuit. It's a contest where you show off your Pokemon and their abilities. And by show off, I mean making your Pokemon look better."

This almost immediately got Caryl's attention. "You mean I could make my precious Cyndaquil look very nice and possibly win those contests?"

Roxanne nodded, but added, "That's true. However, it's not all about how you groom your Pokemon. You must also be a competent battler to be able to win the contests."

This time, it was Kyle's turn to perk up, considering himself a "competent battler". "That might be something I would like to try, Roxanne."

Caryl yelled, "I'll do it too! I'll give it heaps!"

As per the norm when she spoke in Kiwi talk, everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

But after the confusion wore off, Roxanne continued, "Unfortunately, this is very much a growing trend in the Hoenn region. As such, there's only 4 'conferences' as they call them going on. One in Slateport City in 5 weeks, one in Fallarbor Town in 10 weeks, one in Verdanturf Town in 15 weeks and the big one in Lilycove City in 20 weeks. Then it starts over with Slateport City again."

They would have continued that fascinating conversation, were it not for the fact that two very strangely dressed cheerleaders entered the room just then.

Josh stared at them and instantly recognized them as Team Rocket (-ed Jessie's hair was a dead give-away…), but no one else seemed to make the connection. Josh stared and thought to himself, 'Are these two for real'?

As they entered the room, they did a custom cheer…

"Let's hear it for the best Gym Leader in all of Hoenn!" The disguised James said.

This made Roxanne blush a lot, not used to being praised by anyone.

"Give me an R!"

"Give me an O!"

What Roxanne and the other DD didn't notice was that they were creeping closer to Roxanne…

"Give me an X!"

As they said those words, they used a device hidden in their pom-poms to try and grab Roxanne's Poke Balls without her noticing. The problem was that Roxanne didn't have her Pokemon with her today. The Poke Balls were back at Rustboro Gym, and when they tried to grab Roxanne's non-existent Poke Balls…

rip They instead got the back of Roxanne's dress… As soon as everyone heard the rip, they turned around and saw a metal hand clutching onto a shred of her dress.

Roxanne screamed when she felt the back of her dress and found a distinct hole in it. "That was my favorite dress you twits! What do you think you were doing?"

"Prepare for trouble! Our cheerleading rules!"

"And make it double, right here in the school!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

As they threw off their costumes, they finished their motto…

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket gives people a fright!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobba, wobba!"

Josh mumbled, "'Give people a fright' is right…"

Jessie heard him and said, "What is THAT supposed to mean?"

Josh said, in a manner-of-fact voice, "You two, in cheerleader outfits? Please! It was obvious from the moment you walked in here that you were that bunch of losers again!"

James yelled, "How could you see through our disguises? They were perfect!"

Josh answered back sarcastically, "Well, if you call a man dressing in a cheerleader's outfit perfect, then, yeah it was pure perfection." Josh turned to Jessie and said, "Just a little hint for the future… Next time, do something to hide that hair of yours," as he took his hand over the back of his head to "symbolize" Jessie's unique hairdo.

Jessie was almost offended by that comment. "Hide this hair? I wouldn't want to deny you folks of my natural beauty…" That last comment made everyone nearby gag, even James and Meowth.

Meowth than said, "Well, at least 'dis day isn't a total loss, we can still take 'da twerps' Pokemon!"

Simultaneously, Jessie and James threw out a Poke Ball.

"Go, Arbok!"

"Take them on, Cacnea!"

Pretty soon, Arbok and James's new Pokemon, Cacnea appeared on the field. A few seconds later, Cacnea decided that his first attack… would be on James's face.

Josh stepped forward to fight the "frightening" Team Rocket, but then went into his "thinking mode".

"Hmmm… Which Pokemon should I send out?"

Casey yelled, "Josh! We don't have time for this!"

"Patience, Casey! If I send out the wrong Pokemon, I could be in trouble…"

Casey stepped forward and released Meganium.

After a few more moments, Josh finally pulled a Poke Ball off of his belt and said, "I choose you, Poochyena!" Poochyena appeared a couple of seconds later.

"It's about time you chose a Pokemon, Josh!" Casey yelled.

"Normally, I'd be apt to argue with you, but let's deal with Team Rocket first."

Casey agreed (-ed Finally, they agree on something!) and Kyle and Ryo stepped up to watch. Caryl curiously stayed behind…

Josh called for Poochyena to bite Arbok, citing the success they had earlier with that tactic.

Meanwhile, Casey called for Meganium to use Vine Whip in order to trip up Cacnea.

After some swift dodging of Arbok's Poison Sting by Poochyena, he bit Arbok's head, which caused Arbok to again go out of control. It was very clear that Arbok had learned nothing from their previous encounter.

Meganium's Vine Whip also met with some success, causing the charging Cacnea to fall and hurt itself on the spines on its body.

Caryl was sneaking up on Josh and Casey, who just happened to be standing near each other…

After Josh and Casey had taken their potshots at Arbok and Cacnea, it was time for Ryo to take over. "Go, Charmeleon!" Well, a few seconds later, Charmeleon appeared on the field.

It's unknown whether it was Ryo's intention to give Roxanne an example of a Digital Pokemon to illustrate his earlier point, but chances are it was.

"Can you finish the job, Charmeleon?" Ryo asked.

"Finish these three losers off? No problem." Charmeleon said with a bit of confidence of his voice.

Roxanne was impressed by the fact that Charmeleon could talk, so she immediately assumed that this must be Ryo's digital Pokemon, and she was right.

Charmeleon began to charge up a Flamethrower attack, but as he did, Caryl managed to put Josh and Casey in a very uncomfortable situation, though they didn't know it at the time.

Charmeleon's Flamethrower was very powerful and managed to blow Team Rocket right out of the building… through the roof.

"We weren't even close that time!" Jessie cried.

"Roxanne might not have had her Pokemon," he said as he pulled out the piece of Roxanne's dress from earlier, "but at least we have this!"

"What're going to do with that? Sell it on Poke-Bay?"

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Woooobuuuuhhh!" ding

Charmeleon said, "Those three are just a big waste of my time." As he turned to Ryo, Charmeleon stated, "I wish we could find someone worthy of my time…"

Ryo reassured Charmeleon by saying, "I'm sure the Hoenn Gyms will be much more of a challenge to you."

Roxanne was impressed by Charmeleon's power. "Charmeleon must be highly experienced to be able to create a Flamethrower that strong."

Charmeleon flexed a little for Roxanne as Ryo shook his head. "He also happens to be my Digital Pokemon."

Roxanne nodded her head and said, "I figured that out from the fact that Charmeleon could talk. I mean, besides that Meowth, how many Pokemon can talk outside of the Psychic-type?"

The other Digidestined nodded, not able to argue with Roxanne.

It was then that Casey tried to celebrate their victory against Team Rocket by jumping up with her right arm upraised. It happened the way it was supposed to, but not without Josh's left arm going with hers.

Josh asked Casey, "What did you do that for?"

Casey asked, "What do you mean by…"

It was then that both of them noticed that her handcuffs now held the two of them together.

Josh immediately accused Casey of being behind their being locked together.

Casey retorted, "Believe me, if I wanted to be locked to anyone, it most certainly wouldn't be you!"

Josh yelled, "Well, at least we agree on SOMETHING!"

Normally, this would have been the start of yet another argument, but they were more concerned with not having to be locked to each other. So Casey led Josh to her backpack and she went fishing inside for the keys to those handcuffs.

A minute later, she came up with nothing. "The keys are gone!"

Josh yelled, "WHAT?!!" and began fishing through her bag himself. At first, Casey objected, but Josh said that he had plenty of experience with small objects in backpacks. He insisted that if the keys were in there, he would find them.

Josh fished with one arm for a couple minutes before finally coming to the conclusion, "Someone must have taken the keys."

Casey and Josh were, quite understandably, upset with the other Digidestined.

Josh turned to Roxanne and said, "We'll see you at Rustboro Gym tomorrow, I hope?"

Roxanne nodded. Josh turned back to Ryo, Kyle and Caryl and yelled, "Come on!"

Casey and Josh led the other Digidestined into another room, except that one of them departed when no one was paying attention…

Casey yelled, "Okay, whose bright idea was it to cuff us together?"

Ryo answered, "Do you really I would put you two through something like that?"

Josh shook his head and said, "I guess not. It's not in your nature to do something this mean-spirited." He then turned to Kyle and asked, "Well, did you do this?"

Kyle shook his head vigorously and said, "No way! I may not like Casey much, but I certainly wouldn't take it out on her in this way!"

It was at that moment that Josh and Casey both noticed someone missing from the proceedings…

"Caryl!" They both yelled at the same time and ran as well as you could handcuffed to each other out the door. The other Digidestined soon followed.

-Outside, Hidden Secret Base near Rustboro City-

Caryl hid in an impromptu "Secret Base", the term for a place for individual trainers to go when on the road. She had also gone to the trouble to cover her entrance in order not to be discovered.

Caryl thought to herself, 'Well, I did it. I've gotten those two together, and now they're likely angry at me. But, I don't care. This might help get them to stop the constant arguments.'

Just then, she could hear footsteps outside and voices calling out her name. Ryo's and Kyle's voices were definitely nicer sounding than Josh's and Casey's, who were clearly quite angry with her.

Caryl looked at her watch and noticed it was getting late on her final day with Ryo for awhile. So she began to write a note, and waited for the sounds to grow fainter, which would indicate she could come out without fear of being caught.

After a couple of minutes, she could no longer hear the voices of the other Digidestined, so she reasoned, correctly, that she could come out of her Secret Base. She did and called out Aerodactyl.

As soon as Aerodactyl appeared, Caryl dropped her note on the ground, got onto Aerodactyl's back and flew back in the direction of Johto.

Meanwhile, the other Digidestined could see Aerodactyl taking off into the sky and ran to where they saw Aerodactyl take off from, yelling all the way for Caryl to come back. Either she couldn't hear them, or she was ignoring them, but in either case, Caryl and Aerodactyl were soon out of sight.

It was then that Ryo looked down and noticed a piece of paper with Josh and Casey's name on it.

"Hey, Josh, Casey, I think Caryl left you two a note."

They almost immediately demanded to see it, but since they would have ripped the note apart, Ryo offered to read the note.

"Dear Josh and Casey, I personally got sick and tired of listening to you two bicker day and night. It would seem that even the slightest misstep could trigger another argument. And so to try and do something about your constant arguments, I've decided you need to get closer together.

"And so you find yourselves in your current predicament, locked together at the wrist. I've also taken the liberty to take the keys to those handcuffs with me back to New Zealand, so you won't be seeing them until I return, which will be for Slateport Conference.

"You're going to have to get used to each other, and maybe try not to kill each other while you're locked together. And if you get real lucky, I won't have to do this again. Hope you have fun together! Caryl"

Josh and Casey both were wide-eyed at the end of the reading of that letter, realizing for the first time the depth of their predicament. A few moments later, they let out a scream that threatened to shatter Ryo's and Kyle's eardrums and could be heard from miles away.

After the scream was over, Josh and Casey began to argue about whose fault it was that they were locked in that situation for five weeks.

Kyle and Ryo turned to each other and Kyle asked, "Are we even going to make it through these five weeks?"

Ryo answered, "I'm not sure, but we're going to have to be careful from now on, that's for sure…"

Narrator: And so thanks to the mischievous Caryl, Josh and Casey are now joined at the wrist for the next five weeks. Will they survive to tell the tale? And what of their first Gym battle against the powerful Gym Leader of Rustboro, Roxanne? The answers await them just over the horizon.

Next Time: The first gym battle! Will Kyle Evanick's improvement of Taillow be enough to carry him through the battle? How will Team Rocket and others respond to Josh and Casey's predicament? And will things work out the way they're supposed to? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	11. Ep 11: Rock My World

Digicross Advanced Episode 11: "Rock My World"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes outside of Rustboro Gym, where Roxanne, the young Gym Leader awaits them. But, all is not well…

"This is all your fault, Casey!" Josh yelled.

"My fault? It's your fault we're stuck in this mess!" Casey retorted.

"Well, last I checked, I went off on my own and you decided to come with me!"

"That's because Kyle just had to be with Ryo!"

Kyle yelled, "Hey, would you two knock it off?! We're about to go into battle with the Gym Leader of Rustboro City and the last thing we need is you two bickering on the sidelines!"

The two of them were at least civil enough to stop arguing about whose fault it was… for now. All four Digidestined trainers entered Rustboro Gym and addressed the receptionist again.

"You're the trainers Roxanne was with yesterday, correct?" The receptionist asked.

They nodded in tandem. The receptionist noticed that two of the trainers were handcuffed together, but decided it would be best not to pursue an answer as to why that was the case.

"Roxanne is waiting for you inside. Go right in," the receptionist said as she motioned toward a large gray door.

A few moments later, they were inside the gym and looked at the sight of the large Pokemon Gym. It was a large battlefield littered with rocks, clearly giving Roxanne's Rock-type Pokemon the advantage. Of course, that was to be expected. Nearly every Gym Leader in the world had a battlefield which gave his or her Pokemon the advantage, forcing the challenger to be that much better then him or her to win a Badge, or to use a type which is far superior.

Roxanne was seated in the bleachers surrounding the stadium on the far side of the Gym. She stood up when the other trainers noticed her and walked over toward them.

"Good morning, Digidestined."

Ryo and Kyle said, "Good morning."

Josh and Casey gave an unenthusiastic "Hmph."

It was then that Roxanne noticed that Josh and Casey were still locked together.

She asked, "Were you not able to find who took the keys to those?"

Casey answered, "Well, she flew away back home before we could get to her, and now we're stuck together like this for 5 weeks!"

Roxanne looked sullen. "Gee, that's too bad…"

Josh said in a relatively calm tone, "Tell me about it. I don't like Casey, Casey doesn't like me and because of Caryl, now we're inseparable for 5 whole weeks!"

Roxanne couldn't help but shake her head. "Well, did you try to get yourselves free?"

Flashback

Several times during the night, they tried various things to get themselves free from their predicament.

Pokemon attacks… (Show picture of Meganium's Razor Leaf bouncing off the chain)

Hacksaws… (Show picture of numerous broken hacksaws on the floor)

Even blowtorches… (Show pictures of blowtorch being applied to chain, then both of them wincing in pain from the heat a few minutes later)

But none of it worked. The handcuffs Casey had purchased were apparently completely unbreakable.

End Flashback

Josh and Casey looked at each other and Casey said, "Well… we tried a lot, I guess."

Josh then asked her, "Just what brand of handcuffs did you buy?"

"Secure-a-lot, the best handcuffs on the market. Although, I didn't realize they were this powerful."

Roxanne said, "Well, it really doesn't matter much. You're still going to be battling, correct?"

Kyle nodded his head and said, "I will be taking you on today."

The other Digidestined said that they had wanted to go first, but after some time, some persuasion, and the fact that he would have the hardest time defeating Roxanne, they agreed to let him go first. It was then that Roxanne informed them that they would only be able to challenge her once per day in order to give her time to rest her Pokemon and prepare for the next day's battle. They nodded in understanding.

(Author's Note: This might be a prudent time to note that in the interest of time, space and everyone's interest, I will not be showing you all 4 battles in their entirety. Instead, I will show you highlights of three of the battles, and bring you the entire fourth battle. Will they always be in this order? No. But, that's the general idea. This will occur in every Gym episode from here on out because, let's face it. You don't want to read 4 battles with the same Pokemon, and I don't want to write that many, so there. Now that we've dispensed with the formality, let's get back to the show, shall we?)

Kyle and Roxanne stood on opposite ends of the arena and the official referee of the Rustboro Gym came out, flags in each hand to signify winners of individual bouts.

"This battle is between Kyle Evanick and Roxanne of the Rustboro Gym. This will be a 2-on-2 match with no time limit. The two trainers will not select their Pokemon."

Roxanne pulled out a Poke Ball and threw it out. "Go, Geodude!"

A few moments later, a small floating rock with arms appeared on the battlefield. It wasn't able to float much, just a foot or so off the ground.

Kyle knew exactly which Pokemon he intended to use for this battle. "Go, Taillow!"

The small bird Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, staring down Geodude.

The ref crossed his arms and yelled, "Begin!"

Roxanne calmly called out for Geodude to use Rock Throw to nail Taillow from across the arena.

Kyle saw right through this plan and told Taillow to simultaneously dodge and get closer to Geodude. From the distance Geodude was throwing the rocks in the arena, it was nearly impossible to hit Taillow, especially when you add in Taillow's relatively high agility. As Taillow got closer, it became harder to predict Geodude's throws, but not enough to cause him to get hit.

When Taillow was near point-blank range, he finally called out a move. "Taillow, use Steel Wing!"

Roxanne was surprised to find out that Taillow knew the powerful move Steel Wing, especially because she did not have the advantage against that attack. Taillow quickly swooped down on Geodude, wings glowing brightly with the effects of Steel Wing.

Roxanne did not have enough time to react to the powerful move and as a result, Geodude took a significant amount of damage from the move. Geodude flinched from the pain, but it quickly became clear that this battle was not over by a long shot.

Roxanne looked at Kyle and said, "I must say, I was surprised by your Taillow being able to use Steel Wing. But, it won't mean that you'll win this battle. Geodude is still raring to go, and so am I!"

Ryo yelled from the sidelines, "Keep it up, Kyle! You're doing great so far!"

Casey tried to get up and cheer for Kyle, but Josh wasn't budging from his seat. "Come on, Josh! Don't you want Kyle to win?"

Josh looked at her and said, "I want him to win as much as any of us do. But I am NOT getting up and doing cheers in the stands. It would probably be embarrassing to him and definitely embarrassing for me."

Casey looked down at Josh and said, "Oh, please Josh, like it isn't embarrassing for you to be locked to my wrist. I know it's embarrassing for me."

Josh said, "Look, it's embarrassing and annoying for the both of us, but don't forget that Caryl is the one who put us in this predicament in the first place. And as long as I'm stuck to you, I'm not going to do anything out of the ordinary, anything I wouldn't normally do, so get used to it."

Casey sat down and pouted. "Spoilsport," was the only word she uttered.

Back on the field, Taillow and Geodude were going tooth and… beak. Geodude was no longer relying on the long-range attack Rock Throw, Roxanne choosing instead to go head-on with Taillow and not give him the chance to charge up another Steel Wing attack.

Despite this, Taillow was lasting pretty well against Geodude's onslaught of Tackle attacks. Kyle yelled some encouragement toward Taillow, "Don't give up, buddy! Just try and get away from Geodude!"

At the same time, Roxanne yelled, "Don't let Taillow get away from you, Geodude!"

Geodude tried to keep Taillow close by continuing to swipe away at him, but eventually, Taillow managed to get away long enough for him to use another Steel Wing attack in the same place as the last one. This time, the damage was both visible and apparent in Geodude's reaction to the attack.

Geodude's outer shell was cracked in the place where Taillow's Steel Wing had impacted twice and Geodude was wincing in pain.

Roxanne looked genuinely concerned from the sideline and insisted that they stop the match and that this round would go to Taillow by default. Kyle didn't want to receive any "gifts" from anyone, but he was too concerned for Geodude's health after two hard strikes with Steel Wing.

After some intensive care by Roxanne and assuring that Geodude would be all right, they proceeded on to the next match, which would pit Taillow against Roxanne's new Pokemon. As Roxanne pulled out her second Poke Ball, she yelled, "Go, Nosepass!"

A few moments later, a rock Pokemon who looked much smoother than Geodude appeared on the field. The main distinguishing characteristic of this Pokemon, however was the large red nose on his face. "Nosepass."

Kyle pulled out his Pokedex. "I wonder who that Pokemon is."

"Nosepass, The Compass Pokemon. This Pokemon's nose is always pointed to magnetic north. Two Nosepass cannot meet each other head-on due to their inherent magnetism."

Kyle was a little surprised by the fact that Nosepass almost immediately turned around toward the north. Kyle smiled very wide, thinking that since Nosepass's back was now turned toward Taillow, it would be very easy to attack Nosepass and end this battle. "Taillow, go at Nosepass with Steel Wing!"

Taillow charged at Nosepass with his wings glowing, but to everyone's surprise, Nosepass dodged out of the way at the last second. Roxanne said in a teacher-like voice, "Nosepass may not be able to face anyway but north, but Nosepass can use the magnetic currents around her to detect enemies and dodge out of the way."

Nosepass appeared behind Taillow and used Rock Slide, causing massive damage to him.

"Taillow!" Kyle called out as the small bird went to the ground after being pelted by several rocks. Roxanne smirked for a moment, but then was just as surprised by Taillow getting up off the ground as everyone had been a moment ago about Nosepass's agility.

Kyle decided to take advantage of the obvious surprise and have Taillow use Steel Wing. If it weren't for the fact that Taillow was so close to Nosepass, the attack would have surely missed again. But since the attack was at point-blank range, there wasn't enough time for Nosepass to evade the attack.

As a result of this hit, Nosepass, like Geodude before her, had a crack in her side, but unlike Geodude, Nosepass didn't flinch in pain from this strike. It was evident that some damage was done, but it was also clear that Nosepass was much stronger than Geodude was.

Roxanne yelled, "Time to show that Taillow what we're really made of. Use Rock Tomb now!" Suddenly, four large rocks appeared around Taillow and fell in on him.

Kyle instantly yelled out, "Taillow!" The other Digidestined got up with concern for Taillow. Taillow soon poked his head out of the rocks, eyes swirling.

"Taillow is unable to battle. Nosepass is the winner!" the ref declared.

Kyle recalled Taillow, saying, "You did great. Take a nice rest."

Kyle pulled out a Poke Ball. "I choose you, Noble!"

In moments, Pikachu appeared on the battlefield ready to fight. Roxanne looked extremely confident, knowing that her Nosepass was in at least fairly good shape against the Electric-type Pokemon.

At first, the battle went as one might expect. Nosepass moved quickly around Noble and tried to tackle her. Fortunately, Noble was more than up to the task and quickly dodged out of the way.

It became clear to both trainers that it was going to be a matter of who made a mistake first, or who came up with a winning strategy first. For several minutes, the battle was one of agility, both Pokemon having a number of near misses.

As they watched from the sidelines, Kyle's allies were trying to think of someway to get to Nosepass.

Josh stated, "It's sure tough out there fighting Nosepass."

Ryo nodded and said, "Yeah, but we knew it wasn't going to be easy for Kyle coming into this battle."

Casey looked worried about Kyle. "Is there any way Noble can beat Nosepass?"

Ryo looked at Casey, "Well, Nosepass is a pure Rock-type, so Electric attacks are somewhat effective against them, but there has got to be a better way…"

Josh asked, "Ryo, what if Noble aimed a Thunderbolt right at that crack created by Taillow's Steel Wing attack earlier?"

Casey accused Josh of coming up with a dumb idea for a moment, before she realized that a Thunderbolt aimed right there would not have as much resistance reaching the core of Nosepass, thus causing more damage.

Ryo realized this quicker. "That's actually not a bad idea, Josh. A Thunderbolt aimed there would cause more damage."

Josh looked down at the battlefield and the very quick Pokemon. "I just hope Kyle realizes that before Noble gets too tired…"

The reason they didn't reveal their idea to Kyle directly is because Roxanne would have been able to counter it easily, so they knew that Kyle would have to figure this out on his own. But they figured he was an intelligent person, so there was a good chance that he was going to come up with such a plan.

Ryo yelled, "You're doing great, Kyle! Keep it up!"

Kyle nodded an acknowledgement into the stands and thought, 'How am I going to defeat a Pokemon who can resist Noble's Electric attacks?'

As the two Pokemon continued their battle of speed, Kyle suddenly had an idea not unlike the idea concocted a moment ago by the Digidestined in the stands.

He yelled out, "Noble! Stop moving for a minute!"

She did as was asked of her, but was a little confused before seeing Kyle's face clearly indicating he had something up his sleeve.

Kyle yelled, "Stand still and feel the magnetism from your opponent!"

Noble began to concentrate and stand still. Roxanne saw this as her opportunity to attack, even when she didn't know what Kyle was up to. "Nosepass get behind Pikachu and charge it!"

Nosepass appeared behind Noble and began to move quickly toward her. Just before Nosepass made impact, Kyle called for Noble to jump and aim to land on Nosepass.

The sudden jump by Noble was surprising to both Roxanne and Nosepass. Nosepass obviously missed on his attack, and Noble soon landed on Nosepass on the place where the crack in his outer shell occurred minutes before.

Roxanne was surprised by this tactic, but was even more surprised when Kyle called for a Thunderbolt from that spot. Before Nosepass could shake Noble off, she shocked the Compass Pokemon and it became obvious that he was hurting.

10 seconds later, Noble jumped off Nosepass, and it was clear that the large amount of electricity put through Nosepass's body was more than enough to put it out for the count, as he stopped floating and fell down, eyes swirling.

"Nosepass is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner and the winner of this Gym Battle is Kyle Evanick!"

Kyle jumped up in excitement, as did Noble. In the stands, Ryo was yelling congratulations while Casey was jumping up and down, Josh's left arm going with her. Roxanne recalled Nosepass, saying that he did a great job.

Roxanne walked across the arena and congratulated Kyle on his victory, despite not having a single Pokemon who was statistically stronger than hers. He was then awarded the Stone Badge as well as a special TM, TM39, which contained a powerful move known as Rock Tomb, which Kyle saw during their battle.

Over the next 3 days, the other Digidestined would battle Roxanne as well, with somewhat similar results… But, before that, they had to work out the issue of Josh and Casey being chained together. Since the both of them refused to work together to beat Roxanne in a Double Battle, they had to stand such that one trainer was on the outside of the box and the other was on the edge of the inside of the box, so to speak.

Josh, despite having Casey tethered to his arm, managed to do fairly well against Roxanne.

"Blade, use Bullet seed to keep Geodude from attacking you," Josh cried.

Blade's Bullet Seed was partly dodged by Geodude, but not fully. He took large damage from the Grass-type move and quickly fainted from exhaustion.

Thanks to Blade and his speed and particularly strong Bullet Seed, Roxanne's Pokemon were kept at bay for the entire battle and as a result, he won as well.

Casey on Day 3 had a somewhat similar situation. The similarities were that she had a powerful Grass-type on her side and a pesky trainer on her side not by choice. The differences were that she also had a decent Water-type and the Grass-type was the very powerful Meganium.

Casey yelled out, "Meganium, Solarbeam!!!"

A large beam of sunlight came off of Meganium after a small amount of charging. One would think that with as quick as Nosepass was in the battle against Kyle, he would have been able to easily dodge that Solarbeam. Unfortunately for him, it was not to be. The attack hit home and Nosepass fainted.

The battle went off as one might expect. Meganium's Razor Leaf and Solarbeam proved to be far too much for the Rock-types employed by Roxanne and Casey laid claim to her Stone Badge.

Ryo had a little tougher time with Roxanne, but not too much so. Charmeleon may have had a type disadvantage against Roxanne, but his much higher experience and Metal Claw evened the odds. Swinub also got a little time on the field and used Powder Snow and Mud Shot to down one of Roxanne's Pokemon.

"Charmeleon, finish off Nosepass now!" Ryo yelled out to his partner.

Charmeleon gave a thumbs-up to Ryo as he ran in. Roxanne told Nosepass to brace himself, but it was too late. A brutal Metal Claw attack dug into Nosepass and dealt major damage, causing him to faint.

Charmeleon dealt the final blow to Nosepass, and he won his first Hoenn Gym Battle.

As a result of their battles, each Digidestined trainer obtained the Stone Badge, the first badge en route to the Hoenn League Championships, and TM39.

After the battles were all done, the Digidestined bid farewell to Roxanne before deciding to stay in Rustboro City for a little longer to see the sights before they got on with their Pokemon journey.

Narrator: "And so, after having a very hard time with Roxanne's Pokemon, Kyle and the other Digidestined obtained a Stone Badge. What awaits our heroes elsewhere in Rustboro City? And how will they respond to it? The answers lie just around the bend…"

Next Time: The Digidestined visit Devon Corporation's HQ in Rustboro City. What will they find at Hoenn's answer to Silph Corporation? And what does Team Magma see in this place that's worth their time? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	12. Ep 12: Red Hot Espionage

Digicross Advanced Episode 12: "Red Hot Espionage"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: "Today, we find our heroes outside the Devon Corporation, a well-known company in Hoenn that produces all sorts of powerful and handy tools for Trainers and Pokemon alike."

Ryo stated, "So this is the famed Devon Corp."

Kyle responded, "This is Hoenn's answer to the Silph Corp. in Saffron City."

Josh and Casey were more concerned with something other than the fact that they were standing in front of the jewel of commerce in the Hoenn region.

Josh yelled, "We can't go in there! We'll get looks from all the people in there!"

Ryo said sarcastically, "Oh, I don't know. They might see you as boyfriend and girlfriend…"

Casey snapped back, "I don't want ANYONE to think for a second that I'm his girlfriend!"

Josh yelled back to her, "Well, at least we agree on something!"

Ryo and Kyle had to cover their mouths in order to get them to quit it. Kyle accused the two of them of making a scene right in front of the Devon Building, which, of course, they were.

Despite numerous pleas from Casey and Josh not to have to go near people in their current situation, they entered the building, citing that they "didn't want to be seen alone with each other".

Inside the building, there was a huge atrium in which many works of art hung. It always seemed to be that heads of powerful corporations loved works of art. Pretty soon, they were at the front desk at the far end of the atrium.

The secretary sitting there immediately recognized them from Roxanne's description of them earlier in the week.

"You four are the Digidestined in Hoenn, are you not?" the secretary inquired.

They nodded, figuring correctly that Roxanne must have said something to Devon.

"Roxanne told Mr. Stone that you might be coming here during your trip in Rustboro City and would like to see the four of you." She proceeded to grab four visitor ID's for the four Digidestined trainers.

They took the ID's from her hand and she told them to go right through the door and up several flights of stairs to Mr. Stone's office.

The Digidestined were quite surprised that Mr. Stone, obviously a powerful man in one of the most powerful companies in Hoenn, would want to spend even a moment talking to them, but they nodded, clipped the ID's on their shirts and went through the main door.

Meanwhile, outside the building, other people had other ideas about what to do with Devon.

A red garbed man popped out of a nearby bush and spoke into a walkie-talkie, "We've got trouble. The real kids have just gone into the building. Number three needs to hurry and finish his job."

-Mr. Stone's Office-

"I… I don't know. It would be a huge burden to give you that." Mr. Stone said.

On the other side of the table was someone who looked remarkably like Ryo Akiyama. "Please, President Stone! It would be a huge help to our cause as Digidestined!"

Mr. Stone hesitated for a few moments before sighing and opening his desk drawer. He pulled out a key and they began to walk out of the room heading for another room.

A few moments later, the real Digidestined entered Mr. Stone's office and sat down in the seats around the large table in the middle of the room, pretty sure that he would be back soon. They looked around at all the sights including numerous rare stones in several glass cases around the room.

-Science Lab-

The scientists in the room were in an uproar over the request of Mr. Stone. "But, sir, if we take them out of here now, all of our work with them will have been for naught!"

Mr. Stone looked at them with a sad look on his face. "I know that. We all know we were on the verge of a giant scientific discovery, but you know what Roxanne requested of us."

The scientists hesitated for a few seconds more before they drained the liquid out of the giant tubes, and took out a couple of fossils.

Mr. Stone took the fossils, looked at the fake Ryo, than handed them to him. "I hope you make good use of those fossils, Ryo."

"Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Stone. My friends and I will take good care of these fossils for you." With that, Ryo ran out of the room very quickly, almost a little too quickly.

Mr. Stone sighed and said, "Well, I'm on my way back to my office."

-Mr. Stone's Office-

The Digidestined were still looking around at the sights of the room, wondering how he could afford all of these things when Mr. Stone came in and put on an expression of, to say the least, shock.

"What… but… didn't I…" Mr. Stone sputtered out.

Casey looked at him strangely. "Is this really the owner of the most powerful company in Hoenn?"

Josh looked back and said, "I don't know… He sure is acting strangely if he is."

Mr. Stone ran to the table where Ryo was seated and nearly began to strangle him. "How dare you impersonate the legendary Ryo Akiyama!"

Kyle almost immediately ran to Ryo's defense. "This guy isn't a fake Ryo! He's the real deal!"

Ryo proved the point by pulling out his Pokedex and turning it on in ID mode. "I am a Pokedex from Professor Birch. I am entrusted to the care of Ryo Akiyama. If I am found in anyone else's hands, please report me to Officer Jenny right away."

Mr. Stone put Ryo down and continued to look on in shock as he realized for the first time that he had been talking with a fake Ryo. "I… I don't believe this…"

"What's wrong?"

"First, let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Stone, president of the Devon Corporation. And I'm afraid I've made a huge mistake…"

Josh was first to ask, "What happened? Why are you so upset?"

Mr. Stone went on to tell them of how a fake Ryo had been in the building only minutes before, hence the emotional outburst. The fake managed to trick Mr. Stone into releasing his fossils into his "care" and was now outside of his hands. When the other Digidestined heard this, they became angry, but none more angry then Josh.

Josh said, "Where… did this… guy go?"

Mr. Stone was surprised at Josh's sudden anger and simply told him that the fake likely left the building. Josh got up, dragging Casey all the way outside.

-Hallway-

"Josh, Josh! Slow down already!" The dragged Casey yelled at Josh.

After a couple of minutes of yelling, Josh finally stopped and Casey got off the ground. "What are you doing?"

Josh answered in as calm of a voice as he could manage, "I'm going after that fake."

Casey, in a surprising stroke of good sense, suggested that Josh wait for their comrades. Josh then retorted that he wasn't about to let anyone get away with impersonating his friend, Ryo. Besides, if they waited another moment, there would be a chance that the fake would get away with Devon's fossils.

Casey, seeing a stubbornness she normally saw in herself, knew that trying to get Josh to stop his current course of action would be about as easy as trying to stop a moving train with your body.

"Fine. We'll go, but I want to go with you, as if I have a choice. I want to get that guy almost as much as you do. We're both going to make him pay for making Ryo look like a common criminal."

Josh smiled at Casey for the first time since all of them got to Hoenn, because both of them shared for once a common goal, a common enemy and a common stubbornness.

They walked off together as best as they could while handcuffed together downstairs.

A few moments later, Ryo and Kyle happened to be in that exact spot.

Kyle said, "I told you. I told you, Ryo. Josh is too much on the side of justice and Casey is too stubborn for them to have argued about saving your reputation for this long."

Ryo shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I can't call them all, you know?"

They ran down the hall, hoping to catch Josh and Casey before they got into battle with whoever was impersonating Ryo.

-Outside Devon Corporation HQ-

"Ryo" left the building and ran toward a nearby bush. "We did it! The fossils are ours!"

2 other Team Magma members jumped out of the bush. "Excellent work in there! These will almost certainly help the Boss unlock our goal!"

Suddenly, another voice rang out from nearby. "They would, if those fossils were going back with you, that is!"

The head Magma grunt yelled out, "You'd try and take our fossils! Who do you think you are?"

"Think? We think you should prepare for trouble!"

"And you finks should make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all people within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

They jumped out of another nearby bush. "Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket will flex its awesome might!"

"Surrender now or you'll be in a plight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobba, Wobba!"

The Team Magma members looked genuinely perplexed. They talked amongst themselves for a few minutes trying to figure out who Team Rocket was, since their knowledge of criminal organizations outside of Hoenn was surprisingly lacking. Team Rocket was getting impatient and yelled at them to hurry up with their little conference.

The head grunt broke up the meeting and said, "Sorry. Never heard of ya."

Jessie was offended by the Magma grunts' lack of knowledge. "How dare you! We're members of the largest and most powerful criminal organization in the world!"

The Magma members went back into another conference.

"Most powerful criminal organization in the world! That's preposterous!"

"Yeah, but somehow, I don't think they're bluffing."

"Could they possibly be part of that organization run by Giovanni?"

The three of them looked at Jessie, James and Meowth and one of them said, "Nah. They look too dumb to have been a part of that organization."

The Magma grunts agreed then broke their conference. "Maybe you three are part of another organization far away, but the fact of the matter is that you three can't be part of the strongest criminal organization we know to be headed by Giovanni."

Once again, Team Rocket was appalled by the remark from the Magma grunt. "Of course Giovanni is our boss! He's the one who hired us to capture Pokemon!" James cried in anguish.

The Magma grunt leader looked surprised, then said, "I guess the standards for Giovanni's organization has gone down through the years."

Suddenly, another voice could be heard nearby. "Hey! Give us back those fossils!"

Team Rocket and Team Magma looked over and saw Casey and Josh… locked together like common criminals. Nobody could keep themselves from laughing their heads off at their predicament.

Both of them yelled, "QUIT LAUGHING AT US!"

As they calmed down, they made remarks about how the two of them must be lovers, being that they were locked together like this. Of course, these remarks made the both of them look away from one another.

Then the both of them remember they had unfinished business with each other. "If you lovebirds will excuse us, we'll be right with you." The Team Magma grunt leader told Josh and Casey. Normally, throwing them both aside would have angered them greatly, but Josh and Casey saw the wisdom in allowing them to battle each other and the two of them would take on a weaker team afterward.

Then they started to talk about who those people dressed in red were. Casey explained that they were Team Magma, a team which was supposedly dedicated to doing something to the land on which they lived.

Josh noted mentally that this Team Magma would almost certainly be an enemy of Team Aqua, the team he and Caryl met back in Petalburg City, if they knew about each other that is.

Team Magma's members throw out Torkoal, Mightyena and Sableye to face Team Rocket's Arbok, Weezing and Wobbuffet. (-ed Yes, they tossed Wobbuffet into the heat of battle, even though they think he's a loser.)

Mightyena and Sableye soon tossed out simultaneous Shadow Ball attacks. One hit Arbok and sent him flying from the battlefield. The other was countered by Wobbuffet and sent back at Mightyena, causing major damage to the big black dog.

Team Magma's grunt leader complemented Team Rocket on their battling skills, but said it wasn't enough to topple them. Torkoal launched a massive Fire Blast, too large for Wobbuffet to block with Mirror coat, and as a result, Team Rocket blew up.

"We got burned!" Jessie cried.

"It's the same old song and dance again…" James complained.

"It's like déjà vu all over again…" Meowth groaned.

"We're blasting off again!"

Ding! "Wooooobuuuuhhhh!"

After the Magma members stared at their good work on the Rockets, they turned their attention to Josh and Casey.

Josh and Casey yelled together, "Give back those fossils, you cheats!" This sort of togetherness freaked the both of them out and they covered their mouths in shock.

The Magma team leader just smiled and shook his head, reaffirming his belief that Josh and Casey was, in fact, an item. The idea was still just as preposterous as a few moments before, and they responded as such.

The Magma leader then went on to explain exactly why they couldn't return the fossils. "We can't give them back to you kiddies for two reasons. Number one, these fossils will surely help the boss uncover more ancient secrets than ever before. And number two, if we DID return them to you, chances are that Team Aqua would just steal them from you and we'd be further in the hole!"

Casey looked confused. "Team Aqua? Who is that?"

Josh went on to explain that Caryl and he met Team Aqua outside of Petalburg City and that they were supposedly out give more water to the world.

The Team Magma member was at least glad that the two of them were up on local "politics". He then informed the two of them of the "turf war" that Team Magma and Team Aqua shared. In short, the two teams hated each other because they were out for different goals, so they naturally had to clash with one another.

"Now that you two understand the severity of the situation, you now know we can't just give you the fossils back. If you want them, you're going to have to battle us for them."

The invitation to battle was quickly accepted by both Casey and Josh. What was not so quick was Josh's decision making process. "Which Pokemon should I choose?"

Casey looked at Josh angrily and yelled, "Come on, you moron! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who you should use in this spot!"

Josh stood in thought as he contemplated the risks and rewards of each Pokemon's use. In frustration, Casey sent out Aquaris, followed soon after by Josh's Poochyena. Soon, Mudkip and Poochyena stood against Torkoal, Mightyena and Sableye. The Magma members laughed their heads off, thinking that there was no way that 2 weakling Pokemon like them could defeat 3 powerful creatures like they had.

Normally, that probably would have been true, but just then; Ryo and Kyle came out of the building and saw the situation. Almost by instinct, Ryo tossed out Charmeleon and Kyle brought Noble out onto the field. It was suddenly a 4-on-3 battle.

Charmeleon saw the situation and said, "So it's these guys again, huh Ryo?"

Ryo responded, "Yeah. Can you handle them again, Charmeleon?"

Charmeleon let out a puff of flame, almost as if he was insulted by the insinuation that he couldn't handle this bunch of losers. "Just watch me." As Charmeleon ran into the battle, he said, "I'll take care of Sableye, the rest of you can take on Mightyena and Torkoal!"

The others nodded. Kyle called for Noble to use Thunderbolt on Mightyena and Poochyena and Aquaris had to team up on Torkoal, despite their trainers' wishes. (-ed Not wanting to work with each other unless they had to.)

Thunderbolt shocked Mightyena, but it quickly rebounded and tried to bite Noble unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, Poochyena howled to fire itself up while Aquaris hit Torkoal with a Water Gun attack.

Torkoal retreated into its shell to deflect the Water Gun, but came back out into a Bite attack by Poochyena. Torkoal shook off Poochyena, only to be squirted in the face by Water Gun. As the attack got over, Poochyena again latched onto Torkoal's face. This process continued for a couple of minutes before Torkoal's stamina ran out.

Charmeleon was having a small amount of trouble with Sableye, but mostly because Sableye kept coming in and out of existence, causing the majority of Charmeleon's attacks to miss completely.

Once Charmeleon began to burn the entire field with Flamethrower, Sableye couldn't keep himself phased out long enough to avoid damage and he eventually fainted under the heat.

Mightyena was having a tough time with Noble, mostly because she was so swift and agile that it was hard to get any sort of blow to hit. Mightyena didn't so much faint from being hit too much as much as it fainted from pure exhaustion.

Team Magma looked completely baffled at their win. They recalled their Pokemon and tried to run for it before Casey called for Aquaris to use Water Gun on them, sending Team Magma flying and causing them to drop the fossils. Fortunately, Charmeleon was focused enough to catch the fossils before they shattered on the ground.

As Team Magma flew off, they yelled idle threats that the Digidestined "were going to pay for this".

-Science Lab, a couple minutes later-

The scientists put the fossils inside the liquid again, much to the delight of Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone then lead the Digidestined into his office. "You children did wonderful!" He looked at Josh and Casey locked together and looked startled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.

He reached into his desk and grabbed a high-tech device which was small, golden, had a small blue orb set into the front, and could open up to look like a small screen up top and a small screen on the unit itself. He handed this to Ryo.

"Take this device, it's a high-tech device known as the Pokemon Navigator or Poke-Nav for short." Mr. Stone said.

Ryo said, "Oh, sir, we can't…"

Mr. Stone cut him off. "Oh, I insist. You saved this company a great deal today and the scientific community as a whole owes you a great debt of gratitude, so this is the least I can do."

Ryo and the others thanked Mr. Stone and began to leave the building, waving good-bye to Mr. Stone as they went.

Narrator: "And so, our heroes foiled the plot of the nefarious Team Magma and spared a couple of important artifacts of the past from exploitation. But will this peace last? And what will Magma do to retaliate? The answers will become apparent soon!"

Next Time: The Digidestined try to find their way to Dewford Island to challenge the Dewford Gym Leader. Will they find a ferry and a willing captain? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!


	13. Ep 13: Don't Peeko

Digicross Advanced Episode 13: "Don't Peeko"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: "Today, we find our heroes wandering around Rustboro City, looking for a way to get to Dewford Island and their second Gym battle. However, they were having problems obtaining a ferry because of rumors of a Team Aqua base between here and Dewford."

Casey dragged Josh around the pier screaming all the way, getting all sorts of strange looks from even the most wizened of captains. "Does anyone go out to Dewford Island anymore!"

The captains, after getting over the fact that they were standing next to a couple of people handcuffed together, all said that since Team Aqua had set up a base on the waterway between Rustboro City and Dewford Island, very few captains had the guts to go out onto the high sea.

Kyle and Ryo happened along at that time, and took the phrase "very few captains" to mean that there was someone who was willing to take them out to sea. They inquired every captain in the area until one of them mentioned someone by the name of Mr. Briney.

According to the other sailors, Briney was an older sailor who sailed all the seven seas long before Team Aqua came into existence. He never feared Team Aqua, and in fact held a Pokemon which has been long sought after by them. Why did they want Briney's Pokemon? No one except Team Aqua and possibly Briney knew the answer.

After some discussion, the Digidestined decided that it would be a good idea to meet with this old sailor named Briney. After wandering to the very end of the Rustboro Pier, they finally happened upon a decent sized nice shack.

They also happened upon a man fishing out on the pier right near what was apparently his house. The bald old man looked to be enjoying himself fishing. As the Digidestined approached the old man, they could hear the cries of a Pokemon nearby.

"Wingull! Win, win, gull!"

They looked up and saw a small bird Pokemon flying over the water. Kyle Evanick, showing the most interest in this Pokemon, instinctively pulled out his Pokedex.

"Wingull, the Seagull Pokemon. This Pokemon rides updrafts using its long wings. When it flies, it looks like it's skating through the air."

Kyle remarks that the Wingull flying above is a pretty cool Pokemon. This, of course, rouses the fishing Mr. Briney from his position on the pier.

"Ahh, so you like my dear Peeko, do you?" Mr. Briney said as he stared into the sky.

Kyle nodded. "Peeko… is that what you call your Wingull?"

Mr. Briney nodded. "Too true. She's been my precious Pokemon for many a year, keeping me company as I run to and fro up and down the coast from here to Dewford Island."

Ryo perked up at hearing that Briney went up and down the coast. "Can you take us to Dewford Island?"

Briney had to think for a moment, but quickly said, "You are a bunch of Pokemon trainers, aren't ya?"

They all nodded emphatically. Briney laughed a hearty laugh and he admitted that at one time, he had dreams of being a Pokemon trainer, but the trainer's lifestyle just didn't fit him. Instead, he took his darling Peeko on a continuous journey on the high seas, and they continue to sail even today with the threat of Team Aqua looming over the southern seaboard.

What amazed the Digidestined most was that Briney appeared not to fear Team Aqua one bit, despite the fact that a big base was rumored to be nearby.

Briney looked over the lot of them while Peeko came to rest on Briney's shoulder. He did spy Josh and Casey in their situation, but he also heard some yells from the two of them across the pier, so he decided against saying a word.

"You bunch of kids can come with me on my normal run to Dewford Island tomorrow. Dewford has several exotic items that people here on the mainland like quite a lot. And because Team Aqua has taken up residence on the coast recently, I'm the only one still making the run to the south."

The Digidestined happily took the opportunity to go to Dewford Island. They would come to meet Briney early the next morning to go south to Dewford Island. Briney assured them that the ship he used was more than fast enough to outrun any of Team Aqua's shots at them.

-That Night, Briney's Home-

As Briney slept in his bedroom upstairs and Peeko sleeping at the foot of the stairs on his perch, all seemed quiet on the homefront. Suddenly, a bunch of men broke into the house and caged Peeko, taking him away. The bad news was that Briney was a very heavy sleeper. The good news was that some people saw the kidnapping and noted where the kidnappers were going…

-Next Morning, Rustboro Pier-

As the Digidestined came down the pier, a scream could be heard coming from Briney's house.

Josh and Casey quit arguing when they heard the scream which they all recognized as Briney.

The Digidestined ran toward Briney's house and after opening the door, they found Briney in his knees right near a perch where, they assumed, Peeko had been the night before.

"Where did you go, Peeko? Who could have done this to you?" Briney cried, causing the Digidestined to become saddened by Briney's loss. Josh quickly turns it into anger.

Ryo asked, "Did you see who took Peeko?"

Briney responded in a quivering voice, "No, but I have a darn good idea of who did!"

Kyle stated the obvious. "Team Aqua must be behind this heinous crime!"

Josh's anger is rising all the time, while these things are being said.

"We may know who's behind it, but how are we going to catch them? I mean, they could have gone anywhere!"

A voice came in behind them. "We know where they went."

The Digidestined looked behind them to find Jessie, James and Meowth standing in the doorway.

Casey had to ask them, "What are you three doing here, and what you mean that you know where Team Aqua went?"

"We saw them head out to sea on a rowboat carrying a small bird." James said meekly.

Josh couldn't hold it in any longer. "And you didn't do anything to get Peeko back! You three ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Just imagine how you would feel if your beloved Pokemon got taken away from you!"

James and Jessie looked down at the floor and thought about what they would do if Weezing and Arbok were taken away. This was, in fact, part of the reason they had shown up here today to help the "twerps".

The other reason was to get a ride to Dewford Island with them. At first, the Digidestined all adamantly refused to be in the same space as Team Rocket, but Briney immediately told them to put aside their differences for now. If they could help him get Peeko back, and agreed not to come after them after he was rescued, they could come with him to Dewford Island.

Almost immediately, objections were yelled from the Digidestined, but Briney insisted that, at least for the moment, they needed to put their differences aside and work together to bring back Peeko. Then he would take them to Dewford Island.

Reluctantly, they agreed, and Briney revealed his fast boat, saying they were going to go after them. After the standard comments about Josh and Casey being an item, and the standard comments from the two of them not being together, except via the handcuffs, they took off in the direction the Rockets told them to go.

-30 minutes later, Waters of Western Hoenn-

The Team Aqua grunts were getting tired of rowing. "Guhh… Why did the boss only have us go there in a frickin' rowboat?"

The guy standing up looking out said, "Don't question the boss! We needed to get in there all quiet-like, so if we used a motorboat, it would have defeated the purpose, now wouldn't it!"

The grunts grumble, but suddenly, they hear a faint noise behind the ship. As the Aqua grunts look behind them, they see Briney's motorboat rapidly closing in.

"Crap! It's that old sailor, Briney!" The Aqua grunt leader yelled out.

As the boat moved closer, they could see a number of trainers on board the ship. "Looks like he brought reinforcements this time," an Aqua grunt exclaimed.

"Don't worry; we're nearly in range of our cannons which will blast Briney and those shrimps out of the water!"

Back on Briney's ship, the Digidestined and Team Rocket could see the boat of the Aqua grunts in the distance.

Kyle turned to Jessie, James and Meowth. "Looks like you three were telling the truth."

"We told you already, we want to get to Dewford as badly as you do, and we don't want anyone other than ourselves to steal Pokemon." James stated.

"Yeah! Dat's our business!" Meowth exclaimed.

Right now, it didn't matter much, as the Digidestined readied their Poke Balls.

In a matter of moments, Charmeleon, Toaster, Aquaris and Blade were out on the front of the boat. Two seconds later, the trainers stepped back to assure a misbalance of weight didn't occur so that the boat wouldn't capsize.

It was then that they saw it. A giant boat looming in the distance, numerous cannons facing their direction; this was indeed the boat that Team Aqua used as a base.

Briney yelled, "If we're going to get Peeko back, we need to sink that boat before it gets in range of those cannons!"

The Digidestined all nodded in acknowledgement as Ryo turned to Charmeleon. "Buddy, you think you can hit that rowboat over there and save Mr. Briney's Peeko?"

Charmeleon was a little reluctant to pull the trigger this time. "I don't know, Ryo. I might miss and end up frying Peeko."

Briney yelled out, "It's a risk we'll have to take. The last thing we want to do is allow them to get in range of those cannons on that ship! Take a shot at the ship, my Peeko can take it!"

Reluctantly, Charmeleon began to charge up a Flamethrower attack. As he did, the other Digidestined told their Pokemon to use their elemental attacks as well. Team Rocket, feeling they had done their job, waited in the back of the boat.

"Aquaris, Water Gun attack!" Casey yelled.

"Blade, Bullet Seed that ship!" Josh exclaimed.

"Torchic, use Ember to help them out," Kyle cried.

Flamethrower combined with Water Gun and the "shot" attacks of Bullet Seed and Ember into one large multi-elemental attack and it shot right through the ship, sending the Aqua members flying back onto their ship and leaving Peeko's cage floating in the water.

That was the good news. The bad news was that the cage was in range of the cannons. Kyle Evanick decided to do something rash and jumped into the water after the cage. Ryo yelled at him to come back, but it was no use.

Instead, Ryo told them to get closer to the ship, causing screams from Team Rocket, who was afraid of getting blasted out of the water. Ryo assured them that if they used Wobbuffet well, they could counter the cannonballs and send them back at the ship.

Pop! "Wobbuhh!"

Ryo called Wobbuffet to the front of the ship and after Jessie nodded to him, Wobbuffet did as he was asked.

The boat creeped into range and the crew of the ship had to decide whether to fire at the boy approaching Peeko, or try to sink Briney's crew for good. Needless to say, it was no contest and they fired at the boat.

Unfortunately for them, as the cannonball approached, Ryo called for Wobbuffet to use Counter, which sent the cannonball flying back into the cannon from which it was fired. As a result, the cannon blew up and a fire could be seen on the deck of the Aqua base.

This gave Kyle enough time to retrieve Peeko's cage from the water and swim back to the ship with it. Jessie used Wurmple's String Shot to bring Kyle and Peeko back aboard the ship. Kyle opened the cage and Briney and Peeko had a very touching reunion. The boat then took off in the direction of Dewford Island.

Inside the Aqua ship, the base commander was less than thrilled at the failures of her underlings.

"What exactly is so tough about capturing a few little Pokemon for the boss!"

"We're sorry, Isabel. Those kids are proving to be much tougher than we thought!"

Isabel, the commander of this base, looked down for a moment, than looked up and said, "I'm going to have to report this failure to Archie. I may not be back for a couple of weeks while we plot out a strategy to deal with them, and a punishment for you bunch of sorry grunts!"

Isabel stomped out of the command room, destined to take a motorboat to Aqua's HQ elsewhere in Hoenn. The grunts looked frightened, knowing that Isabel could be downright ruthless when she needed to be.

Back on Briney's ship, an awkward conversation between the Digidestined and Team Rocket was taking place.

"Umm… We don't know how to say this to you, but…" Ryo stammered.

"Go on…" Jessie implored.

"We have to thank you for helping us get Peeko back. You can be real good when you want to be."

Team Rocket bowed in appreciation of the compliment.

Ryo continued, "And… I guess we can tolerate each other for awhile."

James added, "Tolerate is a very good word for it."

Casey then said, "Once we get to Dewford Island, we're going back to being enemies, right?"

Meowth said, "'Dat's right! We wouldn't have it any other way!"

Everyone nodded in agreement to this proposal. Briney was at least happy that there wasn't going to be any fighting between them until they were clear of his ship. "Peeko, I'm glad you're back!"

"Win, Wingull!" Peeko cawed happily.

Narrator: And so, thanks to a little help from Team Rocket, of all people, the Digidestined returned Peeko, Mr. Briney's precious Wingull to him, and they are on their way to Dewford Island. What surprises lie in store for them next? The answers lie over the horizon…

Next Time: The Digidestined and Team Rocket make a stop on an island to pick up some exotic fruits for Briney. But is that all they will pick up? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	14. Ep 14: The Island of Seviper

Digicross Advanced Episode 14: "The Island of Seviper"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: "Today, our heroes, along with the archenemies, Team Rocket, find themselves on Briney's boat, trying to get to Dewford Island. However, they are about to make a scheduled stop on an island north of their destination."

Briney's boat began to come to a stop near a dock of a small island which didn't look to have any civilization on it at all.

The other people on the ship looked around and saw nothing of interest.

Ryo asked the question on everyone's mind. "What exactly are we doing here? This isn't Dewford Island, is it?"

Briney gave a hearty laugh from within the wheel room. "Oh, no. We're not too far from Dewford, but this is a stop I always make on my run to Dewford.

"You see, here on this untamed island is a great deal of tropical fruit which the folks on the mainland love to eat. So you are going to help me get some fruit today!"

Everyone looked at Briney in shock, thinking that this was a joke or something, but he was being dead serious.

He smiled and simply said, "If you kids want to get to Dewford Island quicker, you better get moving and get those fruits!"

Josh and Casey protested on the grounds that they were unable to get into the trees because of their situation. It was a convenient excuse, but one which was certainly valid for the moment.

Briney thought about this for a few minutes, then came up with a good idea. Casey and Josh were to hold the basket in which the fruits would eventually end up. Of course, that did mean that they would be running to and fro among the trees, but that was the price they had to pay because they couldn't climb trees themselves.

After a long argument with everyone, including Team Rocket, they finally agreed to get some fruits, so that they could get on toward Dewford.

Suddenly, Ryo had a thought. "What about Team Aqua? They seemed pretty mad at us when we got Peeko back, Mr. Briney."

"Don't worry about those Aqua goons. We're within the radar range of Dewford Island, and since they're outlaws, they wouldn't dare bring their base within range of police forces."

They nodded and went onto the island, looking to obtain many different kinds of fruits to make Briney happy with them.

-10 minutes later-

With the exception of Josh and Casey, the trainers all climbed separate trees and began to pick fruits and wait for Josh and Casey to run underneath them with their basket.

A process which went somewhat smoothly, all things considered, for a little while; unfortunately, after a while, the process was rudely interrupted by a Pokemon, wanting to get some free food.

A large black and purple snake with yellow diamonds along its back came up to Casey and Josh and began to eat out of the basket.

Yelling could be heard from the two of them, telling the snake to "shoo" and "go away". Clearly, though, the snake wasn't having any of it, as despite Josh and Casey moving away from the snake, it chased them, wanting to partake of the fruit.

The people in the trees noticed Josh and Casey being chased by the snake quickly, mostly because they heard the two of the screaming for someone to "get away from them" and "leave them alone".

Ryo pulled out his Pokedex and pulled up the entry for this Pokemon.

"Seviper, the Fanged Snake Pokemon. This Pokemon loves to eat eggs of Pokemon like Wingull and Taillow. When it can't find these treats, it will often resort to eating berries."

Ryo yelled down to them, "Watch out, you two! That's a Seviper you're dealing with!"

Casey yelled back up, "Would someone come down here and help us! We can't hold him off like this!"

Everyone in the trees decided to come down and at least fend off Seviper for now. After Ryo's Charmeleon drove off the snake with a carefully aimed Flamethrower, they decided to have a little meeting to decide what to do about the snake, as it would probably be back again.

They discussed how to deal with Seviper for quite awhile, trying to decide if any of them would try to battle and capture Seviper.

It was then that they heard that Jessie wanted to catch the Seviper because it reminded her so much of her precious Arbok. After a lengthy argument about letting Team Rocket get their hands on a new Pokemon, the Digidestined decided that since she would be catching the Pokemon legitimately, it would be allowed.

-Later that day-

For the most part, things had gotten back to normal. Kyle was picking Pinap Berries, Ryo was picking Nanab Berries, James was picking Cornn Berries and Meowth was picking Iapapa Berries. Josh and Casey were still running about collecting the berries from all 4 sources, and Jessie had taken up hiding behind a tree, at least to Josh and Casey's perspective, to surprise Seviper whenever it showed up again.

In theory, the idea was a great one. Josh and Casey would distract Seviper long enough for Jessie to sneak up behind it and capture it. However, this was not to be, as Seviper had other ideas…

-5 Minutes Later-

Josh and Casey continue to run frantically between the trees catching fruit. However, they soon step on something they didn't expect to be stepping on… Seviper.

"Seviper!"

Josh and Casey quickly (-ed well, as quickly as they can) turn around and see the purple snake lunging up toward them. It is then that they both run as fast as they can away from Seviper.

"Look at that, Josh! Another brilliant idea there, bucko!"

"Hey, I didn't hear you come up with any ideas yourself, Casey!"

"I would have come up with something if you had just given me some time!"

"You! You have about as many brilliant ideas as Davis!"

The others could hear the argument from the trees, and Ryo yelled down at that last comment, "That's just not nice, Josh."

Josh lashed out at his friend in the heat of the moment. "Not nice? I'll give you not nice!"

Of course, this was a very empty threat, as Casey was still attached.

Casey had the correct frame of mind to call out to Jessie to come forth and battle Seviper and try to capture it. Jessie wasn't ready to have an all-out battle with Seviper, but she knew that if she was going to get her hands on Seviper and get off this island sometime before next year, she was going to have to battle against it.

Jessie jumped out from behind the tree, yelling at Seviper to get its attention. It didn't work. Seviper continued to chase after Josh and Casey as they yell at each other.

It was only when Jessie brought Wurmple out and used String Shot on Seviper that she (as they had just found out) turned around and faced them.

Seviper came back with a Bite and a Poison Tail attack. The first didn't work well. The second caused Wurmple to go flying. Jessie caught Wurmple and asked if she was okay. Wurmple responded by evolving into a red cocoon.

"What kind of Pokemon is this?" Jessie cried.

Meowth, even from the treetop, recognized that Pokemon. "Dat's a Cascoon. It'll evolve pretty soon and you will have a brand new bug Pokemon."

Jessie recalled Cascoon and brought out Arbok to challenge Seviper. Both Pokemon stared at each other for quite a few minutes. Eventually, Arbok glared at Seviper and Seviper became intimidated by Arbok.

Jessie took that opportunity to tell Arbok to wrap up Seviper. Not the brightest of choices, since Seviper bit Arbok, causing him to let go. When Arbok let go, Seviper shed her skin right in front of them.

Needless to say, this caused them to gross out. "Ewww!" Casey cried.

"What did that snake just do?" Jessie asked.

Josh proceeded to state the obvious. "Seviper… left her own skin…"

Kyle, who had been watching from the trees, suddenly remembered something he read once in his Pokemon book. "I think that was Seviper's special ability."

Jessie looked up at Kyle. "What are you babbling about, you twerp?"

Kyle didn't take offense at being called a twerp, because he was used to it from her. "Seviper has a special ability known as Shed Skin. It allows Seviper to shed his or her skin whenever he or she is affected by a status ailment. Apparently, the old skin holds the old status ailment, and Seviper is like new again!"

Jessie was creeped out by this ability, as were the rest of the trainers present, but they didn't have much time to be afraid of this ability.

Seviper came back with a Poison Tail attack. This time, Arbok was the one to get the jump on Seviper with a well-timed dodge and successive Bite.

Seviper cried out in pain as she took a lot of damage from the powerful Bite attack of Arbok. As Seviper runs around in pain, Jessie times the throw of her Poke Ball with Seviper's movements to and fro. The first throw misses, so she has Arbok clamp down on Seviper to assure that the movements of the Pokemon would be constant and that Seviper would not fight back against Arbok.

After several minutes of this, Jessie finally got lucky and threw a Poke Ball successfully at Seviper. The Poke Ball wobbled quite a few times before it finally locked in Seviper. Naturally, Jessie had to make her best impression of Ash, as most everyone did.

"All right! I caught Seviper!" Jessie exclaimed.

The only response she got was a bunch of sweatdrops from the other trainers. A few moments later, a collective sigh of relief was breathed by the entire group as they now knew that, as least for today, they weren't going to have to deal with any more interruptions.

The rest of the day went off smoothly, Josh and Casey still running about arguing with each other because they had nothing better to do while running about. The trainers continued to gather many berries and when the basket was finally full, it was time to head back to Briney's ship.

As they returned, James had the nerve to ask Ryo a question. "Do those two always argue like that?"

Ryo nodded and said, "Yep. Those two hate each other about as much as you three and Ash's party did back when you were after their Pokemon."

Team Rocket nodded collectively as Josh and Casey continued their yelling, although now it was more whining than arguing.

When they finally got back to Briney's ship, Briney was waiting for them. When he saw the sheer number of berries these children had managed to get, he whistled, clearly impressed.

"You children did a great job! Bring the basket aboard and we can get moving to Dewford Island."

As they got aboard, they noticed that the Aqua base from earlier had come a lot closer to Dewford. They may have been planning something for Dewford, but they didn't know or care, really. All they knew was that if Aqua came back after them, they would have to be ready.

After the fruits were loaded, Briney announced their departure and that their next stop was Dewford Island. The trainers all cheered.

It was then that Ryo remembered that they needed to get any information they could about their next opponent at Dewford Gym. Along those lines, Ryo asked Josh is he could pull out the Hoenn Guidebook he got awhile ago.

After explaining to Josh that he wanted to find information on the next Gym, Ryo took the book from Josh and looked up Dewford's Pokemon Gym.

After a couple of minutes, Ryo found some interesting information on the leader of Dewford Gym.

"Apparently, we're next going to face a guy named Brawly, and he likes to use Fighting-type Pokemon."

Casey said, rather flatly, "I can hardly imagine why a guy named Brawly likes Fighting-type Pokemon…"

Ryo said, "If you think that's appropriate, then maybe you should see what Brawly's like. It says here that he isn't a muscle-bound person like you think he would be. Sort of like Chuck of Cianwood Gym."

Josh added, "When you said that, the first person I thought of was Bruno of Kanto's Elite Four."

Ryo nodded and continued reading. "Apparently, Brawly is really into surfing, of all things."

This surprised the Digidestined and Team Rocket. Of all the things one would expect a Fighting-type Gym Leader to partake in, surfing was probably right near the bottom of the list. A Water-type Gym Leader would be expected, but a Fighting-type leader? It was out of the ordinary.

The Digidestined decided that they should be careful when facing Brawly for someone with such varied tastes would likely have a few surprises up his sleeve when it comes to his Pokemon choices.

-Next Day, Dewford Island Dock-

As the trainers departed Briney's presence, they thanked him for taking them here. Peeko cawed her approval and Briney thanked them all for getting his precious Peeko back.

After they left his presence, Team Rocket and the Digidestined stood opposite each other in a very awkward moment. They had agreed to become enemies again once they reached the shores of Dewford Island, but it was clear that Team Rocket wanted nothing to do with them today.

It was then that Josh asked them, "Do you really want to fight us today?"

Team Rocket gave an emphatic reply, "NO!"

Casey said, "Normally, we'd have an obligation to send you punks blasting into the stratosphere…"

Team Rocket braced themselves for what they thought was an inevitable blast off.

Instead, Kyle got the gist of what the general conversation is and said, "But I think we can let you off the hook for today."

"Really!" Jessie, James and Meowth yelled simultaneously.

Ryo said, "Of course. You're not being evil, and haven't been evil for the last few days. The worst thing you did was eat a few of Mr. Briney's berries, and considering your normal actions, I think we can let it go."

Team Rocket bowed in appreciation and ran off into the sunset.

The Digidestined all smiled, knowing that tomorrow things would be back to normal.

And they went to the Pokemon Center to rest and prepare for their battle against Brawly tomorrow.

Narrator: "And so, thanks to a little help from Team Rocket, Briney was able to obtain all the fruits he needed. In the process, Jessie got a new friend in the form of Seviper. Will the Digi… Wait a minute. What's this?"

The Narrator found a note of appreciation from the cast of this show.

"Seeing as you have supported not only this series from the beginning but also the Pokemon Anime, we figure you finally deserve a vacation. Take the next few episodes off and get some well-earned rest. Come back after we're done on Dewford Island."

Narrator: "Yes! Finally! I can have some time with the family! Thanks a lot!"

Narrator runs out of the booth jumping and yelling happily.

Author's Notes: We will try not to have the Narrator for a few episodes, starting with the next episode in Dewford Gym. If you have an opinion one way or another on this issue, let me know. Thank you very much. Oh, and stick around for "Questions I Already Know the Answers to™" for the next episode of Digicross Advanced.

Next Time: The Digidestined take on the Dewford Gym Leader, Brawly. Will they have the skill and the will to pull through Brawly's Fighting-type Pokemon? Or will they wipeout at the hands on his capable Pokemon? And who's the kid with the broken arm? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!


	15. Ep 15: A Fight to the Finish

Digicross Advanced Episode 15: "A Fight to the Finish"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

-Dewford Island-

The Digidestined stood outside of Dewford Gym as they prepared to challenge the Gym Leader, Brawly. After learning that Brawly was a Fighting-type leader, Kyle was thinking that it would be a little easier to go at it against him with Taillow. The others were thinking about their battles in the upcoming days until they finally arrived at Dewford Gym.

As the Digidestined entered the Gym, they saw across the way a fairly large arena. However, unlike Roxanne's Gym back in Rustboro City, this arena didn't have anything extra on it. They quickly figured out that adding obstacles and such would be more of a detriment to Brawly's Fighting-type Pokemon then any sort of help to his chances of success against a challenger.

Speaking of the Gym Leader, the Digidestined could spy a young blue-haired man staring at them from across the arena floor. Not a single one of them doubted for a moment that this was indeed Brawly, the Dewford Island Gym Leader.

Brawly walked across the arena floor and looked over the people whom had just entered his Gym, clearly looking for something. Then he finally found what he was looking for. As the Digidestined looked at him and drew their attention to what he was looking at, they realized rather fast why Brawly was able to identify them as the Digidestined…

The handcuffs which bound Josh and Casey at the wrist.

"So you dudes are the Digidestined, right?" Brawly asked.

Ryo answered in the affirmative.

Casey yelled at him, "As if you couldn't tell!" She then lifted up hers and Josh's cuffed arm to illustrate the point.

Just as quickly as Casey had raised their arms, Josh shoved them back down. "There's no need to show the whole world, Casey!"

Needless to say, this began yet another in a long string of arguments they had been in since they had been handcuffed together. The worst part of it was that they weren't even half-way through their "imprisonment".

Ryo and Kyle had to try and stop their argument because they didn't want to be embarrassed in front of Dewford's Gym Leader anymore then they already had.

Brawly simply told Casey and Josh to cool down. They heard Brawly and stopped arguing for a moment to listen to him. He told them not to worry too much about their situation, but rather, to make the most of it.

This statement was followed by the question of how they could make the most of being cuffed to their "worst enemy". Brawly simply told them, "Maybe there's a reason you two were stuck together like this. Perhaps you can find a way to work together to get through this situation."

Despite the fact that all this sounded well and good, the two of them still managed to stay as stubborn as ever and simply turned away from each other with a "humph!".

While Brawly's little inspiration talk wasn't entirely successful, it did manage to calm them down for at least a little while.

Brawly then observed the obvious. "I'm sure you aren't here just to shoot the breeze, are you?"

Kyle answered that they were there to try and win a badge from him.

Brawly then pointed out the giant representation of the Knuckle Badge on the wall alongside the arena. He went on to explain what they had already heard before. He would only challenge one of them a day, but they would all get to face the same four Pokemon under the same set of circumstances in this way. After some discussion, calm for once, the trainers decided to do things in the same order they did them the last time. Kyle would challenge Brawly first, Josh second, Casey third, and Ryo would go last.

(Author's Note: Because of story reasons, in this particular Gym Battle, the "full battle" will be last. As such, the three "highlight" packages will be coming your way right now.)

The battle was very similar to Roxanne's in structure, a 2-on-2 affair with no time limit.

Kyle's battle with Brawly began with an unexpected twist. Kyle bringing forth Toaster, his Torchic and most experienced Pokemon, wasn't too surprising. Brawly bringing forth Meditite was extremely surprising. Well, at least it was when they discovered that Meditite was of the Fighting-Psychic type, a combination which they would not have guessed for a moment would actually exist.

This meant that Kyle had to be a lot swifter with his commands to Toaster as Meditite was quick on the draw. The first round took several minutes as both Toaster and Meditite exchanged blows. After Meditite had evaded a previous attack with Detect, Kyle saw his opportunity to launch a long-range attack to KO Meditite.

"Toaster, hit Meditite with Ember!" Kyle yelled out.

Brawly immediately called for Meditite to avoid the attack with Detect. However, the successive uses of Detect left Meditite's brain temporarily exhausted and as a result, he didn't see it coming and got hit with an exceptionally powerful Ember attack. Meditite was knocked out.

Brawly's second Pokemon was Makuhita, who was able to withstand Torchic's Fire attacks with ease due to his Thick Fat ability. It was a matter of moments before Makuhita was able to get a blow on Torchic and knock her out. It became apparent that Torchic's Blaze ability was why she was able to knock out Meditite.

Kyle sent out the much quicker Taillow to face Makuhita. Brawly had Makuhita use his trademark ability, Bulk Up, to increase muscle and become slightly more resistant to Taillow's blows. The tactic didn't work well at all, because by the time Makuhita was strong enough to withstand Taillow's blows, he was significantly weaker than he was at the start of the battle.

"Taillow, hit Makuhita with Wing Attack!"

Taillow came down on Makuhita rather fast, causing the already weakened Pokemon to finally faint from exhaustion.

Kyle had won his battle with Brawly, and now had to wait for the others to battle against Brawly.

-Day 2-

The second day saw Josh stepping up to the plate to face Brawly. He wasn't going to have an easy time of it because neither of his Pokemon had the advantage against Fighting-types or a significant experience advantage. So he was going to have to win it the old-fashioned way, through better tactics and strategy… and not letting Casey distract him too much from outside the trainer box.

When Brawly brought forth Meditite, Josh brought forth Poochyena. Sure, he was worried about Fighting-type attacks, but he also knew that Meditite's powerful Psychic attacks which he used yesterday would have no effect on the Dark-type Poochyena.

This forced Brawly into a different set of actions, as he tried to knock Poochyena out with a set of Jump Kicks. Poochyena was able to dodge the attack from such a long range. It was then that Ryo told Josh that Jump Kicks rely on the Pokemon hitting the opponent. If it missed, the Pokemon was damaged.

Josh used this to his advantage by having Poochyena move around the arena very quickly while Brawly tried desperately to knock Poochyena out. After awhile, Brawly tried to use Hidden Power instead, but Josh saw this as his opportunity to move in close.

"Poochyena, get ready to go in for the kill, use Bite attack!" Josh yelled.

After leaping over the orbs shot out by Hidden Power, Poochyena bit Meditite. After all of the lost stamina from all of the missed Jump Kicks, Meditite fainted.

When Makuhita came forth, Josh very quickly recalled Poochyena as per the rules of the Gym Leader battle. Blade was brought forth in favor of Poochyena to face Makuhita. As it turned out, this was the perfect choice to face Brawly's last Pokemon. Makuhita was able to get a couple of blows in, but they were at best glancing blows due to Treecko's immense speed.

After awhile, Josh finally saw his chance to get in the final blow.

"Blade, Bullet Seed!"

Josh's favorite technique so far proved once again to be very powerful as the tired Makuhita couldn't dodge the attack. As a result, he fainted and Blade was declared the winner. Josh had won his Knuckle Badge. They returned to the Pokemon Center and awaited Casey's challenge the next day.

-Day 3-

The Digidestined reentered the Gym as Team Rocket, trying to find some money to fund their continued exploits against the "twerps", decided to buy an Itemfinder and was using it to find all sorts of items along Dewford Beach.

Since it had been awhile, they recited the motto to themselves while they hunted for items.

"Prepare for trouble down by the sea!"

"And make it double as far as we can see!"

They got interrupted, however, by a fisherman trying to fish for new Pokemon yelling at the bunch of them for scaring the fish away. Team Rocket went back to scavenging for items, knowing they would get another chance at the twerps eventually, but they needed some money.

Inside Dewford Gym, Casey prepared to face Brawly's two Pokemon with two Pokemon of her own.

When Brawly brought Meditite out, Casey decided to give Aquaris a chance at some experience in battle and therefore brought him out.

Aquaris had very little going for her as her Water Gun blasts were easily countered with a combination of Detect and Confusion. When Casey decided to switch things up and have Aquaris go in for the kill, Brawly simply had Meditite use Confusion and knocked Aquaris out.

This pissed Casey off as she sent out Meganium to try and make a comeback.

"Meganium, hit Meditite hard with Razor Leaf attack!"

Meganium's Razor Leaf didn't hit right away due to Meditite's Psychic abilities, but before too long, the continued onslaught of Razor Leaf attacks finally struck Meditite and knocked him out. Brawly acknowledged Casey's tenacity before he called upon Makuhita.

The battle was significantly less rough for someone with as much experience as Meganium had. A combination of Body Slams, Razor Leaves and Vine Whips weakened Makuhita enough that Casey was able to unleash Meganium's ultimate attack.

"Meganium, Solarbeam now!"

Brawly tried to get Makuhita to get out of the way of the impending attack, but he was too tired. As soon as the Solarbeam charged completely, she fired off the Solarbeam which hit Makuhita dead-on. Needless to say, this attack KO'd Makuhita and Casey celebrated as much as she could with Josh tethered to her.

Casey had won her Knuckle Badge, and it was all a matter of if Ryo could bring it home for them the next day.

-Day 4, Outside Dewford Pokemon Center-

The Digidestined were ready to go to Dewford Gym one last time for Ryo to face-off against Brawly. Yesterday's battle against Casey proved the point that Ryo couldn't relax for one moment. He needed to bring his "A-game" if he was to have a chance against Brawly.

Ryo was thinking about the strategies he would have to employ to give Swinub a chance and to give Charmeleon as much of an advantage as possible. At least he was thinking about it until the Digidestined heard a deep runmble that quickly grew in volume as explosions occurred to the north of Dewford Island.

The loud explosions were in chorus with a fantastic lightshow. It looked like there was almost a second sun, only blue. Almost a minute later, that blue 'sun' popped and they could see that the smaller explosions were within. Those blasts quickly died down, leaving only a large pillar of smoke which even ceased a minute after that.

Immediately the Digidestined went into a conversation, wondering what the heck had just happened. After some heated discussion, they agreed that it had to be Team Aqua's massive ship which served as a base which got blown up. They would have continued the discussion to try and figure out who was behind such an act, but Ryo reminded them that they needed to get going to Dewford Gym.

They agreed to pick up the conversation later after the battle with Brawly concluded.

When they entered Dewford Gym a few minutes later, Brawly was waiting for them.

"Took you dudes long enough to get here. Do you know what that explosion was a few minutes ago?"

Casey was about to answer, but Josh answered first that they agreed that the explosion was a Team Aqua ship to the north of Dewford Island.

Casey yelled at Josh that she was about to say that, but Josh calmly answered that she was too slow in answering Brawly's query. Casey continued to yell at Josh, but Josh was determined not to argue with her so early in the day. There was still the issue of the boat on his mind and he was not going to embarrass his friend in front of the Gym Leader again.

When Casey finally got done yelling at Josh with no response, Kyle, Casey and Josh sat down, Kyle embarrassed for Casey. Ryo stood at the arena's edge, awaiting the instructions from the ref standing alongside.

"Today, Ryo Akiyama from Cinnabar Island faces off against Brawly, leader of the Dewford Gym. This will be a 2-on-2 match with no time limit. Let the battle begin!"

Brawly called forth Meditite and Ryo brought forth Swinub, thinking that Swinub would have a better chance against someone without the Thick Fat ability, which Ryo had discovered shielded the Pokemon against Ice attacks as well as Fire attacks.

In theory, the idea was a good one. In practice, Brawly had learned from trying to go all-out against Josh's Poochyena a few days before. Instead of going at Swinub full power, Brawly opted to use long-range attacks like Confusion.

But Ryo, being the smart, resourceful trainer he was, decided to use this to his advantage.

"Swinub, aim Mud Shot away from Meditite!"

This move, executed while Meditite was charging up a Confusion attack, proceeded to confuse everyone in the arena, including the Gym Leader Brawly.

"Swinub, start running around the arena," Ryo cried.

The moment Meditite fired off Confusion was timed perfectly with Swinub running behind the Mud Shot attack fired off a few moments before. This resulted in some weird physics as the Mud Shot didn't deflect, but rather changed direction and hit Meditite square-on as everyone gasped in shock.

"How in the world did he know to do that?" Kyle asked Josh and Casey, not really expecting an answer.

Josh simply answered, "He's been a trainer for a long time, so he's got to know some things that we don't."

Casey just nodded in shock.

But as much shock as the Digidestined were in, Brawly was even more shocked that Meditite's Confusion was turned against him. Brawly yelled out to Ryo that he made a good move, but it wasn't going to be good enough.

Ryo just shouted out a command in response. "Swinub, use Powder Snow while Meditite is distracted!"

Swinub launched the Ice-type move Powder Snow which hit Meditite off-guard while he was cleaning himself off from the Mud Shot a few moments earlier. This attack proceeded to make Meditite shiver, understandable since he got covered in snow.

"Swinub, hit Meditite hard now with Tackle!" Ryo yelled.

Brawly yelled, "Meditite, get Swinub with Confusion!"

The problem was that Meditite was so cold that it was hard to get up the concentration necessary to complete a Confusion attack. As a result, Swinub's attack hit Meditite hard, although it hurt even more because of the fact that Meditite's skin was sort of numb from the extreme cold just moments before. Meditite couldn't take anymore and fainted.

"Meditite is unable to battle. Swinub is the winner!"

Swinub jumped up and down happily as the Digidestined cheered from the sidelines. Brawly recalled Meditite, saying that he deserved a rest; he went on to tell Ryo that he did an excellent job of using Meditite's own tactics against him. Ryo thanked him, but Brawly went on to say that he certainly wasn't going to be doing it again.

"Go, Makuhita!"

The small, plump yellow Pokemon came forth on the field. Ryo was determined to keep Swinub in as long as possible in order to give Charmeleon as much of a chance as possible to finish the job.

Brawly was determined to make the knockout of Swinub as quick as possible. Brawly yelled for Makuhita to use Fake Out. As the Digidestined looked on, Makuhita disappeared and then reappeared suddenly behind Swinub. Before Swinub could react, Makuhita hit him fairly hard. Swinub wasn't knocked out by the blow, but it was certain that he was on the ropes as it took him a few seconds to recover.

Brawly yelled out, "Makuhita, finish off Swinub with Karate Chop!"

Makuhita ran toward the still stumbling Swinub and hit him with a very painful Karate Chop. That was the last attack Swinub could endure and he fainted.

"Swinub is unable to battle. Makuhita is the winner!"

Ryo recalled Swinub, telling him that he needed to rest now. This was as exciting as Gym Battles could get, it was one-on-one, and Brawly's Makuhita was about to face his toughest opponent in the last four days.

"Go, Charmeleon!"

The large red Fire-type Digital Pokemon appeared on the field with an, "I've been waiting for a challenge!"

Brawly remembered what Roxanne said about Ryo having a Charmeleon that talked, so it wasn't that surprising. What was surprising was the fact that Charmeleon didn't look the least bit worried about Makuhita at all.

"Your Pokemon looks rather confident, Ryo," Brawly observed.

"That's because I am rather confident," Charmeleon retorted.

Ryo told Charmeleon to handle this himself, and Charmeleon nodded and gave Ryo a thumbs, or claws, up.

Brawly yelled at Makuhita to try and play keep-away with Charmeleon. Makuhita stayed away from Charmeleon as both of them tried to figure out the strategy Ryo was employing. It became obvious a few moments later when Charmeleon used Rock Slide to bury Makuhita in rocks, causing extreme pain.

Makuhita struggled to break free as Brawly watched in horror and the Digidestined watched with anticipation.

Finally Makuhita broke free of his rocky prison… just in time to get hit at close range by Metal Claw, causing more pain to Makuhita. It was becoming obvious to both the watching Digidestined and the Gym Leader that Makuhita was outmatched and outclassed by the Digital Pokemon.

"Charmeleon, finish off Makuhita with a point-blank Flamethrower!" Ryo commanded.

"I thought this one was mine to take care of…" Charmeleon observed. Nevertheless, Charmeleon was going to do as his trainer said.

Charmeleon fired a powerful Flamethrower attack right in Makuhita's face. Even the thickest of fat couldn't save Makuhita here, as the heat was too much in combination with everything else that had happened. Makuhita finally collapsed from exhaustion.

"Makuhita is unable to battle. Charmeleon is the winner, and the winner of this Gym Battle is Ryo Akiyama!"

Ryo and Charmeleon celebrated in the arena, the others celebrated in the stands, Josh and Casey's arms moving about with mild protest from Josh. Brawly recalled Makuhita, saying they did the best they could.

Finally, Brawly came across and congratulated Ryo and Charmeleon on a job well done. He proceeded to hand Ryo his second Hoenn badge, the Knuckle Badge. Ryo also received a copy of TM08, a move known as Bulk Up, mostly seen in the battle against Kyle.

Brawly then told them that they should head in the direction of Mauville City and challenge the Gym Leader there. After their goodbyes, the Digidestined departed Dewford Gym.

-Dewford Island Pokemon Center-

Ryo had Nurse Joy restore his Pokemon using the machine there. While they were being restored, the Digidestined decided to try and plot their next move.

"Nurse Joy, do you know where we need to go to get to Mauville City?" Ryo asked.

"You'll need to get on the ferry to Slateport City if you want to go to Mauville." Nurse Joy replied.

This comment reminded Kyle of something and he asked if he could go make a phone call. After receiving permission, Kyle left for a few moments while the Digidestined continued to talk.

"So I guess the next thing we need to do is get a ticket on this ferry." Casey observed.

"The ferry doesn't come back to Dewford for another week." Joy told them.

"Why's that?" Josh asked.

"That's just how long the ferry takes to get from here to Slateport City. It takes about two weeks for the ferry to go from here to Slateport, that's all."

Kyle came back and immediately got grilled about who he was calling. He told them that he was calling Caryl to remind her to bring the keys to Josh and Casey's handcuffs when she came for Slateport Conference.

After they were clear about the reason Kyle had to make a call, Josh asked Joy if there was anywhere on the island where a bunch of trainers could go to capture Pokemon.

Joy pointed them in the direction of Granite Cave, on the north end of Dewford Island.

The Digidestined started to have a conversation about what they were going to do for the next week when some strange things started to happen.

A strange looking guy barged through the door to the Pokemon Center, another young man in his arms, and a strange looking thing on his back. "Nurse Joy! I need some help here" He hollered, not caring who heard him.

Nurse Joy looked up at the sight of the strange wolf-looking man and immediately passed him off as being someone in costume. He didn't appear to be hurt, but the man in his arms, on the other hand, looked roughed up pretty badly. "What happened"

The young man in the "wolf man's" arms looked up at Nurse Joy, his face clouded in pain as he spoke. "We had a slight misadventure."

Nurse Joy hurried over and began looking him over. "Hmm, possible broken arm, minor cuts and bruises all over." She turned and cried out"I need a large stretcher and supports for possible concussion, stat" The stretcher was quickly wheeled out by Chansey.

Joy glanced around and pointed at Ryo. "You! Come over here and help me support him"

Ryo looked surprised but nodded his head and hurried over to lend a hand. Nurse Joy pointed to the young man's legs"Help by getting them straight while I support his head and neck."

The "wolf man", Joy, and Ryo quickly got the young man situated on the stretcher, his right arm placed where it wouldn't be jarred any more.

Joy looked at the man in costume as she began wheeling the young trainer into the back. "Go fill out the forms sitting on the counter and then find a place to sit and rest. This is going to take a while."

The strange-looking man headed over to the front desk and began to fill out the forms as Ryo walked back to his friends.

Casey looked Ryo strangely. "What was that about" She shifted her arm and got a quiet yelp from Josh.

Ryo shrugged. "Evidently his friend" at this he pointed at the "wolf man's" back"Got roughed up by something and got injured pretty badly."

Josh frowned"What's with that costume"

"Dunno. Perhaps he's a traveling actor or something." Ryo answered.

"And his character is a Digimon" Josh replied.

Ryo shrugged again"Well, you got a better idea"

Josh shrugged"I don't, but it still seems strange that the guy is dressed as a Digimon."

Kyle shook his head"Well, he's no Pokemon, and there aren't any Digimon here in Hoenn, what else could he be"

"Hmm. Point." Josh replied while nodding his head.

Casey rolled her eyes"So anyway, what are we going to do now" The four of them filed out of the Pokemon Center, deciding to make the decision outside.

The wolf-man finished up the forms and started to contemplate what he had heard from the young trainers.

Meanwhile, outside the Pokemon Center, the Digidestined agreed to go into Granite Cave for a few days, then come back out and finish out the last couple of days by helping Kyle and Taillow get ready to face Caryl in Slateport Conference.

And that night would be spent under the stars near the entrance to Granite Cave so that they could get an early start the next day.

Next Time: The Digidestined begin their exploration of Granite Cave, whose size is more cavernous than expected. What kinds of new and unusual Pokemon lurk inside the massive cave? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	16. Ep 16: Steely Steven

Digicross Advanced Episode 16: "Steely Steven"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

The Digidestined have entered Granite Cave, a large underground cave system going all over Dewford Island in an attempt for Ryo, Casey and Josh to capture a new Pokemon before they head toward Mauville City and their next Gym Battle.

"Wow, this place is dark!" Kyle observed.

"Well, we're not deep enough in the cave where light from the outside can't get in, so we don't need an external light source yet." Ryo said. It was true. Even though the cave was pretty dark, there was still some light seeping in from the outside.

Ryo told them also that if they got deep enough into the cave, he did have Charmeleon to light up the cave. At this comment, the other Digidestined calmed down.

They began to wander the cave, hoping to find new Pokemon and new hope to defeat the next Gym Leader on their list. Bunches of Zubat came swooping down on them at regular intervals, which proceeded to surprise absolutely no one.

After about 10 minutes of exploring the top half of the cave, they came upon another trainer exploring the caves with a small Steel-plated Pokemon on his side. When the trainer heard footsteps coming from behind him, he turned around to face the Digidestined.

As had been the case with Brawly, the blue-haired trainer looked over them for some sign that they were who he thought they were. And as before, the sign he was looking for was the handcuffs binding Josh and Casey.

"You're the Digidestined, right?" The trainer asked.

This time, both Casey and Josh yelled, "As if you couldn't tell!"

This rekindled the argument between them of whose fault it was that they were stuck like this. The blue-haired trainer as well as Kyle and Ryo sweatdropped at Josh and Casey's bickering.

It wasn't anything new to them, but now, more than ever, Ryo and Kyle wanted these last three weeks to get over as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, the trainer introduced himself as Steven Stone, and apologized for bringing an argument to their group.

"Relax, Steven. Those two argue all the time. Ever since they were handcuffed together, it's almost more unusual to not hear an argument from them." Kyle said in a quiet tone.

Ryo nodded and said, "Yeah. It's almost like those two will end up being like I remembered Ash and Misty… quibbling lovers."

Despite the fact that Ryo was talking quietly to Steven, Josh and Casey heard the word "lovers" come from him and almost immediately the two of them ran up to Ryo and asked, "What did you say!"

Ryo, on fear of being hurt badly by the two of them, told Josh and Casey that he was talking about Ash and Misty and how they quibbled all the time. At the time, they didn't understand the comment, and frankly, they didn't care either.

The argument would have begun again, were it not for the fact that out of the corner of his eye, Josh spotted a Pokemon.

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" Josh asked to anyone who was listening while he pointed to the yellow looking Pokemon with the strange "appendage" in front of it.

Steven and the others looked at the Pokemon and Steven told them that it was a Mawile. To confirm this fact, Josh pulled out his Pokedex.

"Mawile, the Deceiver Pokemon. This Pokemon has jaws which have evolved from steel horns. If the opponent lets down its guard by looking at Mawile's docile face, it will not hesitate to clamp down with its jaws."

Josh smiled. "Sounds like my kind of Pokemon."

Steven nodded and said, "Maybe you should try and catch it, then."

Josh pulled Casey along, causing her to yell at him again.

As soon as Mawile saw Josh preparing to battle, she ran off down the corridor. Josh was about to go after her, but Steven advised them to stop, much to Casey's relief.

Josh demanded to know why he had to stop. Steven told them that things get more dangerous down that way as the cave goes down underground that way. If they wanted to go deeper in the cave, they were going to have to get a reliable light source. Thankfully, they did have Charmeleon and Ryo released his partner to help them out.

Steven wasn't willing to help them as their goals in the caves were different from the Digidestined. Steven reminded Josh to not allow his Pokemon's guard to be let down. Josh thanked him and the Digidestined went deeper with Ryo and Charmeleon leading the way. Steven and his Pokemon, Aron, continued to explore the caves in the hopes of finding rare stones. Little did any of them know that a certain team of losers had the same idea deeper in the caves…

Team Rocket used some pickaxes and some mining helmets they had bought the day before using the money they had procured during their beach "raid" of all the available items in order to try and discover rare gems and stones to sell and get even more money so that once they left the isle of Dewford, they would have plenty of money to continue their exploits against the "twerps" of Hoenn.

Unfortunately, their plans were about to go right down the tubes when the Digidestined showed up.

Ryo immediately accused the three of them of being up to something. Team Rocket brushed it off, saying that they were using money they had gotten selling things they found on the beach to get things which could help them excavate the cave further and hopefully find some treasure.

The Digidestined were suspicious of Team Rocket's motives, but Ryo assured that cooler heads prevailed down the tunnel. What they didn't know was that the pickaxes also had convenient Poke Ball vacuum attachments. As soon as the trainers got past them, Team Rocket activated the vacuums and tried to steal their Poke Balls. Unfortunately, their batteries were dead.

"James, didn't you get some fresh batteries!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Jess, we spent all our money on the vacuum attachments. We didn't have any money left for batteries!"

"'Dat's great. We've got the goods, but not the power to run it!" Meowth yelled.

James calmed them down and told them to relax and that he did have a back-up plan in place, in case something like this happened.

James's plan was highly clichéd and indeed something which Team Rocket was known for almost as much as their annoying persistence… the pit trap.

Team Rocket walked down the tunnel, trying to stay out of earshot of the children until they heard the wonderful sound of the four of them falling into a pit.

Just like clockwork, after a few minutes passed, Team Rocket could hear the sounds of falling into a pit. As soon as that sound reached their ears, they ran toward the edge of the pit.

Meanwhile, the Digidestined were recovering from falling into the pit. All of a sudden, they could hear familiar laughter coming from the top of the pit as a cage dropped on Charmeleon and lifted him out of the pit.

"Give back Charmeleon right now!" Ryo yelled.

"Don't have a fit, but prepare for trouble!"

"Since you're in a pit, you should make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all people within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket stoops lower with every fight!"

"Surrender now or we'll take flight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Pop "Wobbuuhh! Wobbuuhh!"

Charmeleon tried to use Flamethrower on the cage, but all it succeeded in doing was making the cage uncomfortably hot for himself.

It was at that moment that Team Rocket revealed that they didn't come unprepared this time. They got a fire-proof cage to hold Charmeleon in and they also had cages for each of their Pokemon should they decide to pursue them for Charmeleon. And speaking of cages, Team Rocket had one last surprise for the Digidestined… a cage dropped on them from above so that there would be as little chance as possible for pursuit from them.

Team Rocket ran off with Charmeleon calling out to Ryo. However, Team Rocket did screw something up. By placing a cage on top of the Digidestined, they actually made it easier for them to escape the pit. Casey released Meganium and Kyle brought Noble forth. With Noble's cheeks discharging electric energy creating light, it was easy for Meganium to use Razor Leaf to break enough bars of the cage for them to leave.

From there, it was a matter of using Vine Whip to carry the Digidestined out of the pit from atop the cage. With Noble lighting the way, Ryo and the others began pursuit of Team Rocket.

Further up in the caves, Team Rocket actually thought they were going to get away.

"You three will never get away with this!" Charmeleon yelled.

"We already have! Even if your buddies got out of that perfect pit trap, we're still way ahead of them and have no chance of catching up!"

This would have been true, were it not for the fact that Steven was standing in their way further up the cave.

"Get out of our way!"

Steven shook his head and brought out his prized Pokemon, Metagross, to prove his point. The massive Metagross blockaded the tunnel very well and caused Team Rocket to panic. At the same time, the same Mawile the Digidestined saw before snuck up on Jessie and clamped down on her using her own jaws. This caused Jessie to yell out in pain and drop the cage containing Charmeleon.

Even though they made the cage fire-proof, they didn't do much else to help themselves. The cage broke on contact with the ground. The Digidestined ran up as the cage shattered on the cave floor. Charmeleon broke free and stared down the now significantly less confident Team Rocket.

"I thought you said that cage was perfect, Meowth!" Jessie yelled.

"Well, we spent so much money protecting us from Charmeleon's flames…"

Charmeleon was slowly approaching as Team Rocket slowly backed off… right into the Digidestined children. Ryo yelled at them as Charmeleon assured Ryo that he was fine. To further illustrate the point, Charmeleon unleashed a powerful Flamethrower in their direction, causing them to go flying out of the cave through the roof, creating a sort of skylight.

"We almost won 'dat time!" Meowth complained.

"If only we could have gotten a stronger cage…" Jessie said.

"At least we're out of that gloomy cave…" James observed.

"We're blasting off again!"

Ding!

Steven recalled Metagross and Ryo went to Charmeleon and they had a semi-touching reunion. Kyle, Casey and Josh thanked Steven for his help on Ryo's behalf. Steven simply told them that it was his "civic duty" as a powerful trainer to right the wrongs inflicted upon others by the likes of Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua, or anyone else.

It was at that moment that Josh saw Mawile again and yelled out as such. Just like before, Mawile ran off. But this time, Josh didn't let anything hold him back from running after Mawile. Not even the fact that he was still attached to Casey. As a result, Casey was dragged off her feet as Josh ran after Mawile.

Casey screamed at Josh to stop, which caught the attention of the other Digidestined. Ryo quickly thanked Steven for his help, Kyle recalled Noble before him and Ryo and Charmeleon gave chase to Casey and Josh.

Josh was tossing Poke Balls in the direction of Mawile, hoping to capture her as she ran off. Minutes passed and the Digidestined continued to go deeper into the cave in Josh's pursuit of Mawile.

Casey continued to falter and try to get to her feet while Josh tossed Poke Balls at Mawile. Finally, one hit the yellow Pokemon and it was enclosed in the Poke Ball. Josh finally stopped as Mawile struggled to break free of the Poke Ball. Casey managed to get on her feet and was preparing to yell at Josh the moment he knew whether they had a new Pokemon or not.

Luck turned out to be on Josh's side that day, for Mawile was captured without so much as a battle. Ryo, Kyle and Charmeleon happened around the corner as Josh picked up his Poke Ball but didn't do an Ash-like pose. Part of this was the fact that he was still tethered to Casey and part of it was the fact that Casey was ready to give him an earful for running off like that.

It was then that the light of Charmeleon's tail reached them and Kyle yelled out to both of them if they were all right. Casey was badly scratched up, but nothing a good night's sleep and some bandages couldn't cure. Josh was pretty happy because he had captured Mawile. Josh told Ryo and Kyle that it was his job to reassure Mawile that he wasn't a bad person and that she didn't need to run away from every battle.

Casey proceeded to chew Josh out for running off, especially with her attached. Josh would have fought back, but he knew that Casey was right for once, so he let her chew him out until she was done. Kyle and Ryo would have said something, but they figured that whatever they would have told Josh was probably already covered in Casey's rant.

The Digidestined decided their best course of action was to remain in the cave overnight to give Josh some time with Mawile and give Casey some time to heal. They also thought that being this deep in the earth was going to give them some sort of temporary shielding from anything Team Magma, Team Aqua or Team Rocket could throw at them.

And so the Digidestined spent the night inside of the underground cavern system on Dewford Island, hoping to find their way out to the skylight created by Team Rocket earlier in the day. Josh was spending most of his time with Mawile and Casey just tried to sleep and ignore Josh and Mawile. Ryo and Kyle slept far away from Casey and Josh and Charmeleon slept in the middle of them all, providing some light to keep the Wild Pokemon away. They would pick up where they left off the next day.

Next Time: The Digidestined continue their exploration of Granite Cave as they continue to look for the way out and new and unusual Pokemon. Will they find their way out, or will they need some help from their new ally? The newest character debuts next time on Digicross Advanced!


	17. Ep 17: The Ghost of Pokemon Future

Digicross Advanced Episode 17: "The Ghost of Pokemon Future"

Episode Written by Trey Miller

"Sableye, a Ghost and Dark Pokemon. This Pokemon digs through the ground with sharp claws to find rocks to eat. Certain minerals cause its eyes to glow a haunting color." mimed Casey, sourly. "And remind me why you wanted one of these things, again, Ryo?"

Now, to understand why Casey said that, one would have to understand the situation that she, as well as the other three Digidestined was in. Ryo had decided, upon seeing a single Sableye, that said creature would make a great addition to his team. Of course, the Sableye didn't particularly agree with him. So when Ryo sent out Charmeleon, Sableye called for help. Help came.

Can we say, thirty other Sableye?

So that's how it started. With the thirty-one Sableye coming after them, Casey and Josh managed to keep in step as they ran down the cave passage. Kyle was right behind them, Ryo behind him, and Charmeleon taking the rear, occasionally shooting a fireball over his shoulder. Outnumbered Cave Battle Scenario #4: The Heroes will always find themselves in a dead end, outnumbered, and outgunned.

Case and point, right now. A dead end had stopped their running (for Casey and Josh, a rather abrupt stop), and now their backs were to the wall and their Pokemon were summoned.

Ryo had sent out Swinub to help Charmeleon. Kyle had sent out Toaster, Noble, and Taillow. Casey had sent out Meganium and Aquaris. Josh had sent out Blade, Poochyena, and Mawile. Overall, it was three on one in the Sableye's favor.

That brings us up to Casey's question. Ryo glanced sheepishly at Casey and shrugged, "I just thought it would be a strong addition to my team. How was I supposed to know it'd call for help?"

Casey groaned and raised both of her hands in frustration. This, unfortunately, caused Josh's left arm to rise, which jerked him off balance and sent him tumbling into her. Treecko ran over to help his trainer thus making a large enough opening in the attacks for two Sableye to dart in 'for the kill', as they say.

Thankfully, Kyle caught sight of this before anything could happen, "Noble, Thunderbolt those two!" The Pikachu turned and sent both of the attacking Sableye into states of Paralysis as the electricity messed with their nerves. Kyle gave Noble thumbs up as it then turned and evaded an attack by one of its offenders.

Josh got to a point where he could direct Treecko again and sent him back out with the simple command, "Use Bullet Seed on any Sableye you see!" He cried in shock as Mawile was knocked unconscious by three simultaneous Fury Swipes.

As if in retribution for that, Ryo's Swinub froze two of the Sableye that had just KOed Mawile with his Powder Snow attack. Aquaris managed to somehow knock out the third one with Water Gun.

Five minutes later, Taillow, Aquaris, Poochyena, and Torchic were visiting la-la-land and the Sableye numbers were down to 17. The four Digidestined were beginning to worry about how they were going to get out of this situation, when they began to hear it.

It sounded like a cross between a jackhammer on rock and rough metal scraping other metal (if you've ever wondered what that sounds like, grab the pots and pans from your kitchen, take them into a small room, take a motorized drill and two pieces of concrete, and then start hitting them all together. Yes, the drill included. Oh, and you might want to make sure you have the money to replace anything broken or bent.) And it was coming from the wall near the ceiling nearby. And it was growing louder.

The Sableye began to run around in fear and aggravation from the noise, and the remaining Destined Pokemon were finding it hard to fight without covering their ears as well. Charmeleon used his tail to knock one loopy Sableye over towards Ryo who tossed a Pokeball and caught it without much trouble. Ryo fought between covering his ears and throwing up a victory sign and decided to just holler out, "I caught a Sableye!"

Sadly, the wall and ceiling where the sound was focused from decided to fall in at that moment, overriding Ryo's voice, and bringing up a fair amount of dust.

THUD! WHUMPH! WHAM! "Okay, I think we took a wrong turn at that second tunnel up there!" A voice came from the dust followed by coughing.

Another person started coughing as well, managing to speak between coughing fits, "Well, you were the one who told the driver to 'keep going'!"

From the dissipating dust stomped a tall, err, rather, simply huge Pokemon. A triceratops look-alike, it was... tall. It had bluish gunmetal colored skin, covered by what looked like ivory colored armor over its head and a few other parts of its body.

It stopped and looked around and then grunted back toward the dust. Ryo and the others watched apprehensively as two tall silhouettes stepped from the dust. Kyle asked the question first, "That can't be Team Rocket, can it?"

"Uhh, not unless Jessie finally did something with that mess she calls a hairdo," said Josh. As an afterthought, he continued, "Though they have been getting a bit desperate."

Ryo shook his head. "More likely they're Team Magma. Charmeleon, get ready for anything!"

Charmeleon snorted, "As if I'm not already!"

They all crouched a bit and tensed. From the dust came a guy, still coughing; followed closely by another guy, this one in a were-wolf costume with a large bladed weapon. "All right... that's the last time I try that with a broken arm," grumbled the un-costumed person. Casey and the others noticed that his right arm was in a cast and sling.

The costumed fellow laughed, "Well, it was either that or wade though more annoyances." Standing almost as tall as the boy, the costumed fellow wore brown pants and an olive green vest. His mask was shaped like a wolf's face, only stubbier. He was carrying a large backpack on his shoulders and held in one hand a large walking stick with what looked like a large blade on the top end.

"True." They glanced around and noticed the Digidestined standing by in combat positions. "Oh, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to drop in on you-" He looked around and noticed the Sableye returning. "Sorry, didn't know this was a private party. We'll leave you all alone now."

Josh blinked, "Waitaminute! You're that actor in the Digimon costume!" He pointed at the were-wolf looking man.

The two newcomers looked at each other and shrugged and then glanced back to the Destined, "Ah, I think you're mistaken," said the un-costumed teen. "He's not an actor in costume. That's Dakarimon, my Digimon, and I'm Trey Miller."

"Okay, so not an actor; a Digimon. That must mean... woah, that walking stick had a real sharp blade at the end!"

Ryo stared at the bladed staff nervously, "Uhh, nice to meet you, Trey. I'm Ryo Akiyama, that's Kyle Evanick," Ryo pointed at the other guy who waved, "The handcuffed twins are Josh Johannesen and Casey Sparks." Trey grinned as Josh and Casey tried to glare holes through Ryo and Kyle who was giggling softly.

"It's a pleasure," said Trey. Standing just a bit shorter than Aggron, he was by far the tallest human in the caves. In the flickering light from Charmeleon's tail-flame, Ryo and the others could make out the newcomer. Hiking boots, brown pants, a tan t-shirt and floppy fishermen's hat, as well as one fingerless glove (the other hand being wrapped in a bandage to support the hand).Josh asked the question on everyone's mind, "What happened to your arm?"

Dakarimon frowned but let Trey speak. Trey sighed, "Got caught in the outside edge of an explosion and wound up with something breaking my arm." Everyone could immediately tell that the broken arm was a topic that was best left unmentioned.

Charmeleon's ears picked up the skittering of many little feet, those of the attacking Sableye returning, and he growled, "We should wrap this up because those Sableye are returning!"

Dakarimon looked over at the approaching Sableye and smirked, "Aggron, give a battle cry to scare the Sableye away." The triceratops looking Pokemon inhaled deeply and then roared.

You think you've heard an Aggron roar? Heh, try hearing it in a cave. It echoes quite a bit. And if an Aggron roar is enough to scare even Rhydon and Onix away, what do you think it does to Sableye?

Exactly. In less time than it takes you to read this sentence, they were gone.

As the echoing roar died away, the Destined and the two newcomers uncovered their ears. Trey stuck a finger into his ear and jiggled it. "Yanno, Dakari... I wish you'd give a bit more warning."

Casey ah-hemmed loudly, getting Trey and Dakarimon's attention. "Are you two part of Team Aqua or Magma?"

Trey glared at Casey. "I'd prefer if you didn't think I was part of either of those groups." He pulled out a Pokeball and recalled Aggron.

Ryo and the others did the same to their remaining Pokemon, except for Charmeleon. Ryo whistled, "If you're the owner of that Aggron, you've got to be strong."

Trey shrugged, "I went through seven of the eight Johto gyms and then returned home just recently so that I could try for the Hoenn League." He glanced down at his broken arm. "This came from a little run in with Team Aqua. Dakarimon here got a bit mad and blew up their ship."

Casey frowned, her suspicions not yet alleviated. Ryo, Kyle, and Josh though seemed more accepting. She got jerked along as Josh and the other two guys walked over to Trey and Dakarimon.

Charmeleon sniffed Dakarimon and glanced at Ryo. "I don't recognize his scent, but he's not a Pokemon nor is he a human."

"A hybrid?" asked Kyle.

Trey shrugged, "I don't know. But I do know that Dakarimon's been with me since I was seven, and I've lived here in Hoenn most of my life except for a two year excursion in north Florida in the Human world and my time in Johto."

Charmeleon snorted, "Meh, he doesn't seem too hard to handle."

Dakarimon growled, "Wanna say that to my face, Fire-Butt?"

"Heheh, don't make me take you up on that offer. I'll bring you down to my level in a second, bub."

Dakarimon took a step forward and Trey cleared his throat. "Dakari..."The wolf Digimon sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Fine!" He handed Trey the bladed staff, dropped the backpack, and then stepped forward, "You," he pointed at Charmeleon, "and me, right here, right now. Unless you're afraid Fire-Butt!"

Charmeleon didn't even grace that with a response, simply charging forward and tackling Dakarimon. They hit the ground rolling, claws, teeth, feet, and fists flying.

Ryo stared at the fighting hybrids and then at Trey. "Shouldn't we stop them before one of them gets hurt?"

Trey shrugged, "Dakarimon knows his limits. Besides, he may be a bit on the annoying side, but he's not a slacker in battle."

Charmeleon blasted at Dakarimon with a flamethrower, which was countered with the wolf Digimon hollering out, "Pyro Strike!" He summoned a ball of fire into existence and hurled it at the oncoming Flamethrower, exploding it before it got too close. Both dragon and wolf hybrids slid to the side and clawed the ground going at each other.

Trey sweatdropped, "Okay, this could take a while." He sat down, legs crossed. "Alright, I'm sitting and waiting." He looked up at the others and grinned, "Unless there's a reason that y'all have to be out of this cave post haste, why not sit and join me while we watch those two hotheads."

Ryo looked at the others and asked what they wanted to do. After Josh and Casey had a "lovers spat" (Trey's quip that almost backfired with two angry people trying to strangle him), everyone got seated. With only the most minimum of glares between them.

Trey pulled five Pokeballs from his belt and released the monsters within. Aggron, who the other Destined had already seen, as well as a Lapras, an Umbreon and Espeon duo, and a Grovyle; all of which looked extremely strong except for the Espeon. The Espeon looked almost ready to run away at the first sign of danger.

Casey, Kyle, Josh, and Ryo admired Trey's Pokemon; Josh and Casey being more reserved in their view while Kyle and Ryo sought answers to how Trey got them so strong.

"So how do you normally train your Pokemon?" asked Kyle.

Trey shrugged and glanced over at Dakarimon and Charmeleon, "Usually, either he, me, or both of us train with them."

Josh blinked, "Train with them?" he asked, his voice edged with concern, "Isn't that dangerous?"

Trey laughed, "We passed dangerous when Dakarimon and I met. No, seriously, Dakarimon and I have been training together since we became partners when I was seven."

Ryo looked surprised. "What kind of training do you do with him?"

"Normal things; self defense, strength, agility, basic weapons training, combat training, stealth... Things like that."

Casey and Josh shared a look. If that was 'normal', what was rare? Kyle's brain was apparently operating on the same wavelength because he immediately voiced their question to which Trey laughed and shook his head. His only response: "You do not want to know."

Evidently, they'd simply have to take his word for it.

"So Trey," started Casey, trying to change the subject, "Tell us about yourself; where'd you grow up at?"

"Well, I was born in Saffron City in Kanto and then spent most of my childhood in Littleroot Town. After a two-year stint in the Human World, my parents and I returned and I began my Pokemon journey," stated Trey.

"When did you find Dakarimon?" asked Kyle.

Trey grinned, "I met him at first in the Human World. He became my partner when I was seven."

"Wow. And how old are you?" asked Casey. Kyle glanced at her and sighed. The new guy was going to be grilled before the end of the day.

"I'm eighteen."

This caught Josh's attention. But not before Casey could continue, "Eighteen? You look a bit younger."

"Ah, Casey, you don't need to keep asking so many questions," said Ryo cautiously.

"I'll ask as many questions as I want, Ryo Akiyama!" shouted Casey. Ryo seemed to shrink in height and he quickly zipped back from Casey. Josh looked like he was about to join Ryo in running away if it were not for those darn cuffs!

"Oh, so the new guy has finally met you twerps," came a voice from behind them.

Trey and the others turned and squinted at the dark. Casey hollered out, "Who said that! Show yourselves!"

"Show ourselves?" Jessie stepped from within the shadows. "Prepare for trouble down under!"

Trey groaned, "Not these two again..." The other Destined couldn't help but to agree with him.

The second member came forward. "Because we're bringing it cave-wise on the double! Yo!" James stepped from the shadows, a faux silver chain with a shiny dollar sign hanging around his neck.

Jessie and the Digidestined, Trey included, stared at the 'ghetto' James and then took a step back from him. James sweatdropped at the reaction and sighed, "Alright, I'll take it off."

"Everyone's trying to be another Eminem, nowadays..." deadpanned Trey. The others nodded.

Jessie shook her head and took a stance again, "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

Charmeleon and Dakarimon shouted in unison as they jumped in front of the others, "SHUT UP ALREADY!" Charmeleon proceeded to fire another Flamethrower at Team Rocket.

As that died down, Jessie, James, and Meowth stood there covered in soot. And then they coughed and a puff of soot blew out.

"My turn! Revised Surf!" Dakarimon did some fancy hand motions before throwing his arms toward Team Rocket, unleashing an unimaginable amount of water down the cave path that they had came from. "We're all washed down!"

"But this time it's down a cave!"

"We're always finding ourselves going under!"

"Team Rocket gets flushed down the drain again!"

Dakarimon stopped the waterworks and dropped to his knees, breathing deeply. The Digidestined ran over to where he and Charmeleon were. "Oh man! Is he alright?"

Trey sighed and nodded. "He simply over exerted himself in that attack." He paused to collect his thoughts and continued, "He's a Digimon hybrid, as you may have figured out. A 'biological Digimon' pretty much."

"So he can use TM's and HM's?" asked Kyle.

"Yep," replied Trey, "But his true ability lies in his digital attacks. They're stronger and more efficient, you could say."

Casey frowned, "But then why's he like that if he used Surf?"

"Because... it's not the HM Surf. It's a hybrid revision that I developed a while back," said Dakarimon. He slowly climbed to his feet and took the staff from Trey and leaned on it, "You see, Trey and I have been experimenting with the differences between Pokemon and Digimon attacks. And seeing how I'm a biological Digimon, I figured that I could modify some of the TM's and HM's for more powerful attacks."

Trey took up the spiel, "Without Digiports around, Dakarimon suffers from a lack of digital energy- so any attacks of the hybrid or digital class weaken him for a while."

Josh and Ryo grinned at each other. "Man, if only Izzy could take a look at Dakarimon," laughed Ryo. Josh nodded.

Trey shouldered the backpack and grinned, "You guys wouldn't mind me joining up with y'all, would you?"

One group conference later, and Ryo stepped forward grinning, "Welcome to the club, Trey." The two shook hands.

Josh looked around, "Shouldn't we be getting close to the exit already?"

Kyle nodded, "It shouldn't be too much farther."

Dakarimon nodded, "So what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road, already!" He grabbed the backpack from Trey and put it on his own back, "And lay off the heavy lifting. You wouldn't want me to tell Nurse Joy that you've been overexerting yourself too much when we get back there, now would you?"

Trey gulped, a sheepish look on his face, "Point. Feel free to carry that bag as long as you want. And while you're at it, I need my socks washed." He laughed at the speechless look on Dakarimon's face."

"Why you little!" Dakarimon reached out to grab him, but Trey was already running down the path. "Get back here, Trey Miller!" The Wolf Digimon took off after his partner.

Ryo and the others stared after the two new members of their group before shrugging and running along after them. (Of course, this led to another argument from Casey and Josh... but that's another story for another day.)

Next Time: The exploration of Granite Cave continues as the Digidestined try to get used to their new allies, Trey Miller and Dakarimon. And a situation force Josh and Casey to work together for once! Find out what happens on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	18. Ep 18: Polar Opposites

Digicross Advanced Episode 18: "Polar Opposites"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

The Digidestined are continuing to try to find their way out of the surprisingly large Granite Cave. They have been joined by new allies Trey Miller and Dakarimon as they continue their quest toward Hoenn League glory.

"If we can make it to that skylight, we'll know we're almost out of here!" Casey yelled.

Dakarimon looked confused for a moment before Trey reminded him of the hole they saw in the ceiling on the way in.

These last two days had been eventful for the Digidestined. Josh captured Mawile, which was why they were still in the cave to begin with. Ryo captured Sableye, which caused them to meet up with a Digidestined with a bonafide Digimon, Trey and his partner Dakarimon.

Trey was looking at the bonds which held Josh and Casey together, saying that there was a chance he could pick them out of their situation. Needless to say, when they heard there was a chance to get out before Caryl showed up, they were ecstatic. Charmeleon hung out near Josh and Casey so that Trey could get a better look at the locks.

Dakarimon stayed to the front of the group near Ryo and Kyle, just in case some wild Pokemon happened by. What they had forgotten was that Team Rocket was washed down to the deepest part of the caves last time, so if they were going to attack, Josh, Casey and Trey would be the first ones into battle against them.

To be fair, the Digidestined didn't really have that high of an opinion of Jessie, James and Meowth, and for good reason. Only once had they gotten off with what they wanted, a bunch of berries at Pretty Petal Flower Shop several weeks ago, and that was because they did something which might be perceived as honorable.

As such, even if they decided to attack again, they figured it wouldn't make much difference.

Trey was having little success with the picking of the lock around Casey's wrist. They figured that since Josh was wearing a glove underneath the handcuff, the soreness would be less profound than Casey's.

They walked through the cave, Charmeleon's light giving Trey a chance to free Casey. Dakarimon and Charmeleon kept their distance after the battle they had the previous day.

After about 15 minutes of picking, some clicking could be heard from Casey's cuff. Trey had done it. Casey was free… until Trey a few moments later tripped and fell over a rock in his path because he wasn't paying attention. When he fell, his hand grasped Casey's wrist and handcuff and locked it back into place, causing many screams from Casey and a few from Josh.

Trey apologized and decided that it was best just to leave them as they were until Caryl could get to them in a couple of weeks. Dakarimon shook his head as did Kyle and Ryo.

"Do they do this all the time?" Dakarimon asked quietly.

"Unfortunately, yes." Ryo replied.

"It's a little hard on the ears, but you get used to it after awhile." Kyle observed.

Dakarimon didn't really want to get used to it, but at the same time, he didn't want to do anything which could set them off. Trey was getting sick of listening to the two of them and made a suggestion to both Kyle and Ryo.

"I could shut the two of them up… if you didn't mind bearing the weight of carrying them bound and gagged."

Kyle and Ryo would have given serious consideration to that suggestion, but at that moment the screaming between Casey and Josh caused the two of them to fall in a hole… the very same hole that Trey and Dakarimon had fallen into the day before.

As soon as the screaming changed from Casey and Josh, Ryo and Kyle looked back to notice that they were missing and that the screaming was becoming more and more faint. Finally, a large thud can be heard down below. A few seconds later, the arguing match began again between them, trying to figure out who was at fault for them being stuck in the situation they were in; alone in the dark handcuffed together at the bottom of Dewford's cave system.

Finally, Ryo yelled down to them. "Are you two okay?"

They yelled up that physically they were all right. They just didn't like the situation they were in one bit. It was understandable. The two of them were now stuck together alone in the darkness of Granite Cave.

Down below, Casey and Josh's arguments caused some unwanted attention from some unwanted guests.

"Those two argue more often than we do!" Jessie observed.

"And they're giving me a headache…" James moaned.

"We can take advantage of 'dis opportunity!" Meowth said.

"What do you mean, Meowth?" James wondered.

"Da two of 'dem are alone now and we can take dey're Pokemon without much trouble! Besides, it's dark down here and they won't be able to see us coming!"

Jessie and James were thrilled about the prospect of finally having a realistic chance of winning a battle against the new "twerps".

Back up near the hole, Ryo, Kyle, Trey and Dakarimon were busy pondering their next course of action.

"What do we do now? The two of them can't be left down there for too long by themselves. They'll attract every single wild Pokemon in the entire cavern." Ryo observed.

"I agree. But how do we get down to them quickly and get them back up here quickly?" Kyle asked.

Dakarimon quickly provided an answer to their query. "Trey has some rope you guys could borrow to get down that hole."

Kyle and Ryo loved the idea. All that they needed to do now was to determine who was going to go down and who was going to stay up. After some discussion between them, Kyle decided that since he was the only other one among them to have a Pokemon who can provide light, he would drop into the pit with Noble and Torchic providing enough light for him to see where he is going.

Back down below, Josh and Casey were trying to be careful not to do much of anything except yell at each other quite a lot. For Team Rocket further up the tunnel, it was very easy to find the two of them. Just follow the sound of arguments straight to the bottom of Granite Cave. As a matter of fact, Josh and Casey didn't even hear Jessie, James and Meowth until they stopped arguing for a moment.

At that moment, they could hear footsteps echoing down toward them. It didn't sound like a wild Pokemon making the noises, so they assumed that it either had to be Kyle, Ryo, Trey and Dakarimon… or Team Rocket.

"If anyone is there, show yourself right now!" Casey yelled.

Almost immediately, Josh and Casey heard a very familiar laugh coming from the shadows.

"Prepare for trouble in the dark!"

"And make it double, we'll leave our mark!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket thrives in the dark of night!"

"Surrender now or you won't look too bright!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Pop!"Wobbuffet!"

Josh yelled, "Not you three again!"

"Yes, us three again. And now that you're alone with us, it's an even match." Jessie observed.

"And with the two of us against the two of you chained together, we'll have an easy time winning!" James said.

"Besides, you two don't work wit each other too good!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Wobbuh!"

Casey and Josh both knew they were right. They also knew that if they didn't hold off Team Rocket, chances are that their precious Pokemon would be taken from them. Josh went into his standard procedure of selecting a Pokemon slowly and carefully.

Casey wasted no such time and sent out Meganium. Josh finally decided that Blade should come out because he has a decent chance at seeing in the dark.

Predictably, Jessie and James sent out their Hoenn Pokemon, Seviper and Cacnea. Even more predictably, Cacnea decided to hug James in the face. Jessie, Josh and Casey all sweatdropped at the screams coming from James.

Casey and Josh couldn't see well at all, so they had to rely on each other in order to find Seviper and Cacnea as they battled against Team Rocket. They didn't like having to work together, but the situation dictated that they at least work together and not yell at each other for a little bit.

Seviper came charging at Treecko first, but Treecko was able to dodge on his own. Cacnea aimed for Meganium with Pin Missile. Thanks to some quick thinking and Josh's yelling, Meganium used Vine Whip to bat away Pin Missile.

"Meganium, use Razor Leaf on Seviper!" Casey called out.

This attack was about as successful as any other so far. Seviper was able to dodge out of the way of the attack with the assistance of the dark and Seviper's hearing. Seviper lunged at Blade and Casey yelled at Blade. Treecko dodged out of the way and slammed down on Seviper.

Meanwhile, up above them, Kyle, Noble and Toaster were being lowered down by Ryo and Dakarimon. Trey was making sure that the rope's integrity was maintained and Charmeleon was providing light for all of them. Toaster and Noble were providing light for Kyle's descent into the caves. As he started to get closer, he began to hear the sounds of a battle, which made him utter one thing.

"Team Rocket…"

Down below, despite the fact that they were on even ground and in the dark, Team Rocket was still managing to find a way to lose. Cacnea and Seviper were regularly running into each other while Josh and Casey were managing to keep each other's Pokemon apart and synchronized very well.

With that having been said, though, neither side was taking significant damage which would cause one side or another to lose.

"Casey, what say we combine our attacks and get both of them?" Josh asked.

"It's worth a try, Joshy."

"Blade, use Bullet Seed and fire everywhere in front of you!"

"Meganium, fire Razor Leaves all around!"

This attack was extremely difficult to evade, because almost wherever there wasn't a Razor Leaf, there was a Bullet Seed. Both Seviper and Cacnea took big damage from the attack. Jessie pulled out a bazooka in the dark and was about to use it to stop the two of them from helping their Pokemon, but a light from above began to shine in.

The room began to get a little brighter and from the hole came Kyle, Toaster and Noble riding his shoulders providing light.

"Kyle!" Both of them yelled out, causing them to look away from each other.

"I'm glad you're both safe." Kyle turned around to see Jessie aiming a bazooka at them. "Toaster, hit the bazooka with Ember!"

Toaster shot the familiar small orange bubbles at the bazooka, causing it to begin to overload.

"Meganium, hit that bazooka again with Razor Leaf!"

The discharge of energy from the bazooka caused it to explode, making Team Rocket, Seviper, Cacnea and Wobbuffet to go blasting through the tunnel. As a matter of fact, they ended up flying right over Ryo, Trey, Dakarimon and Charmeleon on their way out of the cave.

"At least we're finally out of that blasted cave!"

"It's about time, too…"

"We was turning pale in there…"

"We're blasting off again!"

"Woooobbbbuuuhhhh!"

Back in the cave, Trey saw the "moron squad" blasting past them and began to feel sorry for them. They were persistently pestering the Digidestined and never got much more than the short end of the stick.

Down at the bottom, Kyle decided that Josh and Casey needed to be brought up the cave via the hole with Toaster riding along to provide light while he and Noble traversed the cave again the long way.

Being stuck close to each other had made the two of them a decent team, but they decided that they shouldn't make a habit of agreeing with each other on much of anything. Toaster didn't really understand what the two of them were talking about, but she didn't really care at that moment.

In fact, in order to make things seem like they were before, Josh yelled at Casey not to call him Joshy anymore.

"I'll call you whatever I want, Joshy!"

"Stop that right now, Casey!"

"Make me!"

And so another argument started and that's what the Digidestined could hear coming from the pit, meaning that things were, in fact, normal again. Because of the fact that Kyle and Noble ran up the cave tunnels, they were close to Ryo and the others by the time Josh and Casey were finally hoisted out of the pit.

Ryo was hoping that the handcuffs which bound Josh and Casey had broken during the fall, but no such luck. Josh and Casey were still yelling at each other as Ryo, Trey and Dakarimon all sighed at how the two of them could fight at a time like this.

"Good! You got them out of there!" Kyle yelled as he came around the bend.

And as he looked at the two of them yelling at each other, Kyle sweatdropped and said, "I guess things are back to normal."

"Yeah…" Ryo said.

1 hour later-

The Digidestined, still determined to get out of the cave, finally passed the "skylight" created by Team Rocket a few days before.

"Look, that's the skylight right there!" Ryo yelled.

"That means we're almost out of this cave!" Kyle exclaimed.

"It's still **your** fault we got stuck in there, Joshua!" Casey yelled.

"Oh, shut up…"

Trey and Dakarimon were talking with each other, trying to figure out what to do next in order to advance their own purposes on this journey.

"Maybe we should break it off with them for awhile." Trey said quietly.

"Are you sure about this, Trey? We may end up making some new enemies because of what you're suggesting." Dakarimon observed.

"I know that. But that's a risk we'll have to take."

15 minutes later, Outside Granite Cave-

Many of the Digidestined were thrilled to just be out of Granite Cave. This included Josh and Casey, who quit arguing long enough to enjoy the fact that they could see the sun again. Then they went right back to arguing again.

"Dakarimon and I have some other things to do, so if you don't mind, we'll be taking our leave." Trey said.

"Why? Can't we go with you to wherever you're going?" Kyle asked.

"Sorry, but where Trey and I are going, we must go alone. And what we're doing must be done alone."

Ryo nodded in understanding as did Kyle. Then the two of them pulled Josh and Casey as far apart as possible so that they could say good-bye to the mysterious Trey Miller and his partner Dakarimon.

Both Josh and Casey became suspicious that Trey was not all he was cracked up to be, but neither one said a word, simply waving at the departing Digidestined.

Next Time: Kyle and Taillow trains for Slateport Conference as the Digidestined continue to wait for the ferry off of Dewford Island. Will their training pay off with a win at Slateport? And what are Trey and Dakarimon going to do now? Find out the answers to at least some of these questions next time on Digicross Advanced!


	19. Ep 19: Caryl Preparation

Digicross Advanced Episode 19: "Caryl Preparation"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Ryo, Josh and Casey stand on the outskirts of a field as Kyle and his most recently caught Pokemon, Taillow, begins a training regimen which they think will get the two of them prepared to take Slateport Conference by storm.

"Do you really think that Kyle will be able to overcome Caryl at Slateport Conference?" Josh asked Ryo.

Ryo replied, "It'll certainly be tough. After all, Caryl has been around Aerodactyl and Cyndaquil much longer than Kyle has been around Taillow. So chances are that Caryl will be able to come up with a much better combination than Kyle unless he's extremely creative… unless Caryl decided to use Ralts instead, than it's a level playing field."

"I just hope Kyle does well at Slateport Conference." Casey observed.

Josh looked at her and said, "Since when do you care about how Kyle does?"

Casey shut her mouth pretty quickly, not wanting to reveal any more than she already had. In fact, Casey kind of liked Kyle and how he was now that he trusted himself. But the fact remained that Kyle didn't really like Casey right now and that Casey wasn't sure what to do about her "crush" on Kyle. So she wanted to keep it secret as long as possible, especially with Josh still shackled to her.

Back on the training field, Kyle had set up a course for Taillow to hone his skills in order to look at cool as possible, for that was the attribute Kyle was concentrating on for his attempt to win Slateport Conference. The course consisted of some rings, some rocks and a couple of targets. Kyle figured that by honing Taillow's skills, it would be easier to be cool.

"Taillow, fly through the rings now!"

Taillow swooped down and tried to fly through progressively smaller and smaller rings, trying to get his accuracy down. The first couple of rings were easy. But, Taillow clipped one of his wings on the third ring and fell to the ground. Kyle quickly rushed over and saw that Taillow was hurt just a little bit, but nothing major.

Ryo, Josh and Casey also came to watch the action from a little closer. Taillow soon got back up and indicated to Kyle that he was ready for more.

"Taillow, try to break up those rocks with Steel Wing!"

Taillow dived at the two side-by-side rocks and tried to sustain two Steel Wings at the same time. It was a little too much for the bird to handle and he fell again. He got right back up again, ready to try the third part of the training regimen.

"Taillow, aim for the target!"

The target was made of a special material which would cause the bulls-eye to break if hit, otherwise, it would remain quite sturdy. Unlike the other challenges so far, Taillow aced this one right out of the gate, hitting both targets and breaking both bulls-eyes.

"Great job, Taillow! Let's take a break for a few minutes and then we'll get back to work again!" Kyle yelled.

Ryo, Josh and Casey came over to Kyle. "Hey, Kyle. How are things going so far?" Ryo asked.

"Pretty good. We've still got some work to do, but at least we're making progress." Kyle responded.

"That's good." Josh said. "Do you think you'll be able to win based on Taillow's moves alone?"

"Well, according to what I found out about the Pokemon Contests, they do take into account the look of the Pokemon, but frankly, I don't know the first thing about making Taillow look cooler."

In a joking voice, Casey gave her own idea. "Maybe you can use Noble to lightly shock Taillow and fluff his feathers out."

"That's a horrible idea, Casey!"

"I know that! I was just kidding! Geez…"

Josh had, in the meantime, pulled out his Hoenn Guidebook and see if there was anything in the book which might help Kyle out. A few minutes later, when he looking at the entry for Slateport City, he came upon something interesting…

"Hey Kyle! I think I might have found something of use…"

Kyle ran over and looked at the page where Josh was looking. Apparently one of the things Slateport City was well-known for was something called a PokeBlock blender.

Josh read the paragraph describing PokeBlocks and found out that many contest trainers feed their Contest Pokemon these special PokeBlocks to increase their natural… attributes, like Beauty or Coolness.

"Most of the time, PokeBlocks are created by experienced Pokemon Coordinators to not only increase their Pokemon's natural abilities, but also to show their love for their Pokemon."

Kyle nodded at this, knowing that in order to take Taillow further and give the two of them a chance to beat Caryl, they would need some PokeBlocks.

Meanwhile, an interested Team Rocket watched from the nearby bushes.

"What the heck are they talking about with these 'PokeBlocks'?" James asked.

"Apparently if we could get our hands on some, we could sell them off to the twerps and make big bucks." Jessie observed.

"Or… we could use dem ourselves and enter da Pokemon Contest circuit!" Meowth exclaimed.

Pop! "Wobbuhh!"

"What are you babbling about!" Jessie yelled.

"Da Pokemon Contest circuit is populated by trainers who have taken dey're Pokemon to da next level, making them look more beautiful and cool-looking and dat sort of ting sounds just like something Jess would do."

Naturally, Jessie began to have delusions of grandeur of her and her Pokemon being famous and well-loved while the twerps were busy bowing down at their feet.

"I tink Jessie is losing her mind again…" Meowth observed.

"As if that doesn't happen all the time." James said.

"We got to come up wit a plan to trick dose twerps!" Meowth said.

"Maybe we can make some fake PokeBlocks to sell to them." James stated.

"Dat's a great idea, Jimmy! Now, all we gots ta do is get some stuff to make da fake PokeBlocks wit!"

Jessie snapped out of her illusion and said, "PokeBlocks? Where are they? I want them for my precious Cascoon!"

"Uh… we ain't got…" James suddenly covered Meowth's mouth shut.

"We got some right over here. Be right back!" James pulled Meowth into a nearby clearing.

"What did ya do dat for, Jimbo?"

"Simple, Meowth. We can create a fake PokeBlock right now and test it on Jess's Cascoon!"

"It's worth a try…"

10 minutes later-

Jessie was getting impatient in the bushes, waiting for James and Meowth to return. In the meantime, Jessie had been stroking Cascoon lovingly. When James and Meowth finally showed up, they gave Jessie what looked like a Pink PokeBlock.

Jessie took it, but immediately gave it back, telling them that it doesn't smell or look quite right, which was odd considering that Jessie had never seen a PokeBlock before in her life.

Both of them retreated back into the clearing after assuring Jessie that it was only a test and they were going to get the real PokeBlocks. Jessie decided to follow them for a moment and see what they were up to.

"James, dat didn't work out too well…" Meowth said.

"Yes, if Jessie could see through it, how are we going to get the twerps to buy it?"

Suddenly, Jessie burst out of the bushes, yelling at the two of them for not only trying to trick her and her Cascoon, but also not letting her in on their plan to trick the twerps out of some of their money.

"It's not like it worked anyway…"

Suddenly, a strangely familiar voice came from behind them, "Maybe I can help you do this better… for a price, of course."

The three of them turned around to see someone they had seen a few times in their travels on Dewford Island, Trey Miller and his partner Dakarimon.

With only their first meeting being non-confrontational, Jessie, James and Meowth had reasons to be skeptical of the Digidestined trainer.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you with the other twerps?" Jessie asked with a tone of anger detectable in her voice.

"No, not really. I move around and help whomever, and you three look like you need some serious help." Trey responded.

"So you mean you can help us do our job better?" James asked in curiosity.

Dakarimon fielded this question. "Of course. All we ask is that while under our care, you return anything you steal from anyone."

This got a number of questioning looks from the three Rocket members. "What's the point of stealing if we just have to give it back again?"

Trey and Dakarimon rolled their eyes. Trey answered, "Let's put it this way. If you want me to train you to become more competent, you're going to have to stop stealing for profit for awhile and do it only in the sake of training."

"But, we need money to go after the twerps!" James complained.

"Ah, ah, ah! I have ways to get us money without stealing!" Trey said in a higher tone of voice.

"'Us'? What 'us'?"

Trey told them that if they wanted him to, he and Dakarimon would join up with them for awhile in order to train them to become at least somewhat competent in being evil. Team Rocket was a little skeptical of the ability of these two to make them better at what they do.

Trey and Dakarimon decided that it was best to try and prove their point at that moment. "In fact, if you're willing to give back the money you might steal from the 'twerps' on this mission, Dakarimon and I would be willing to make some realistic fake PokeBlocks."

"You'd really be willing to help us become better?" James asked.

"If there's one thing Trey is good at, it's keeping his word." Dakarimon noted.

The three members of Team Rocket huddled up together and began to have discussions about what a "goody two-shoes" like Trey can do to help them. After a couple minutes of discussion, the three of them broke their huddle and decided to give Trey and Dakarimon a chance to show off their skills before they made their final decision.

Dakarimon went to work almost immediately, taking some materials from some nearby trees and beginning to work them into a shape of a PokeBlock. After just a few minutes, Dakarimon had created what looked, felt and smelled like a PokeBlock. Only a very experienced Pokemon Coordinator would be able to tell the difference.

Dakarimon walked over to Jessie and gave the PokeBlock to her. "Have Cascoon eat that. I want to see what exactly will happen."

Jessie nodded and gave the PokeBlock to Cascoon. The response to the PokeBlock was both unexpected and completely wanted. Cascoon had been on the verge of evolving and the combination of ingredients used by Dakarimon to create the PokeBlock was just enough to push Cascoon over the edge.

It evolved, making Jessie have visions of what her precious Pokemon would evolve into. "Maybe it'll be a big beautiful butterfly like Butterfree!"

Meowth observed, "Or maybe it'll be a big bee like Beedrill!"

James proceeded to make the most obvious statement today. "I don't think either one of those Pokemon will come out."

After saying this, Jessie smacked James upside the head to shut him up.

Suddenly, wings began to sprout from the evolving Cascoon. They didn't look like bee wings, so that was a good sign. In fact, they did look sort of like a butterfly would, so Jessie was extremely hopeful. However, that hope quickly turned into despair as she saw the form of a purple bug with yellow eyes and antenna, red feet and green wings with red circles on them. The form was not that of Beautifly, Butterfree's counterpart in Hoenn, but rather that of Dustox, a toxic moth of sorts.

Jessie was visibly upset for but a moment, but couldn't bring herself to stay mad at the Pokemon which had evolved from her precious Wurmple. "So what if you're not beautiful, my little Pokemon? Beauty is only skin deep, after all."

Jessie began to cuddle Dustox causing everyone nearby, including Trey and Dakarimon, to sweatdrop.

They decided to allow these two "unknowns" to assist them for awhile. After all, after seeing what Dakarimon was capable of with just the creation of a fake PokeBlock, who knew what these two were capable of doing in total.

"We'll let you stick around. Now go make us a few more PokeBlocks to sell to the twerps!" Jessie commanded.

Dakarimon remained calm, even though he knew he could take out Jessie if he really wanted to. "Relax, lady. I'll make a few more PokeBlocks, already."

Jessie wanted to yell at Dakarimon some more, but Trey stepped in between the two of them. "Remember, if we're going to help you, you're going to have to give any money you steal back."

Meowth raised his voice in protest. "How are we supposed ta give da twerps back deyre money when dey don't trust us as far as dey can throw us?"

Trey gave a wide grin. "Don't worry about that part. You just leave that one to me."

20 Minutes Later-

Kyle and Taillow were hard at work breaking all sorts of things in order to help Taillow better focus his energies toward the kinds of things the judges are going to be looking for at the Slateport Conference. Josh, Casey and Ryo were intently watching, seeing if they could adapt some of the things Kyle was doing to their own training regimen.

About that time, a small cart pushed by a disguised Jessie and James came into the field. The cart boasted that they sold PokeBlocks for the "discerning trainer". Needless to say, Kyle was all over it.

"How much are they?" Kyle asked as he pointed out several PokeBlocks.

"For you, just 250 Poke-Dollars each," said Jessie in a disguised voice.

Kyle was all over the deal and quickly shelled out a thousand Poke-Dollars and got 4 PokeBlocks. After bowing to Kyle, the two of them took off at the same pace they came on so as to not alleviate suspicions. None of the Digidestined suspected a thing, which was quite different from the last time Team Rocket had disguised themselves.

Ten minutes earlier, Trey had taught a small lesson in disguising themselves to the Digidestined. "If you're going to try and go undercover, do yourself a favor, Jessie, and cover up that hair of yours! People can recognize that hairdo from a mile away!"

Because Jessie did a much better of disguising her hair, she and James had succeeded in fooling all four of the trainers. James and Jessie counted their ill-gotten gains, having clearly forgotten that they were supposed to give it back again.

Trey told them, "You know we're supposed to give that money back, right?"

James and Jessie stopped counting and yelled at Trey. Trey calmly told them that if they wanted his help and Dakarimon's help in the future, they would give him the money after Kyle found out that his PokeBlocks were fake.

Back out in the clearing, Kyle was getting ready to feed one of the PokeBlocks to Taillow, hoping that it would give him an edge over his opponents and make up for the fact that the two of them hadn't known each other that long.

"Here you go, Taillow! Eat up!" Kyle said to Taillow with the others looking on.

Taillow gobbled up the PokeBlock, only to spit it out again a few seconds later. However, when it was spat out, the PokeBlock was a gunky mess on the ground. Ryo, Josh and Casey came over and looked at the mess on the ground.

Reluctantly, Ryo picked up the mess and found some leaves within the mess. "What the heck are leaves doing in this PokeBlock?"

It was at that moment that all of them realized that they had been tricked. These weren't real PokeBlocks, they were fakes meant to throw off all but the most experienced trainers until it was too late.

"We should go and get your money back, Kyle!" Josh exclaimed.

"Yeah! Don't stand by and let your money get taken!" Casey yelled.

Kyle shook his head. "Nah, it's not worth it for a thousand bucks. I say a thousand bucks to learn a lesson is a pretty cheap price."

The others had to nod, agreeing that Kyle could have lost a lot more in a similar situation, but learning the lesson now for such a cheap price was very… satisfactory.

Meanwhile, in the bushes nearby, Jessie and James were busy enjoying their money when Trey came back after the children had yelled out that they were tricked. "Give me that money; it's time for me to give it back."

Reluctantly, they handed over the money to Trey. He put it in an unmarked sack and tied it tightly.

"Go, Umbreon!" The small black Pokemon with yellow rings appeared in front of Trey.

"Umbreon, take this sack and give it to Kyle!" Trey commanded.

Umbreon nodded and grabbed the sack and ran off in the direction of the clearing in which Kyle and Taillow were training. Jessie and James waved their money good-bye, literally.

About a minute later, as Kyle and Taillow began to get back to work, Umbreon appeared from the bushes pulling a sack. None of them recognized the Pokemon carrying the plain sack right away, but once she dropped the sack in front of Kyle, he recognized him as one of Trey's Pokemon, making them think that perhaps he was nearby.

After Umbreon dropped the sack at Kyle's feet, she ran away once again. Kyle opened the sack and was surprised to find the very same money that he had lost just minutes before.

The other Digidestined gathered round and found Kyle's money laying in the sack. "What the heck is your money doing in this sack?" Casey asked.

"I don't know, but I'm glad it's here." Kyle observed.

"Do you think Trey got this money back?" Ryo asked.

Josh nodded, but thought to himself, 'I'm not so sure… I'm still suspicious about him. Who's to say that he didn't steal the money himself, and then returned it through Umbreon to cover it up…'

Casey began to have similar thoughts, but in reality, they had both been suspicious for a few days of the only Digidestined to have access to their Digimon in Hoenn.

Both Josh and Casey looked at each other and nodded to each other as well as themselves, as if they both knew that the other was thinking the exact same thing, but neither one wanted to admit it.

After a few minutes, Kyle and Taillow went back to work.

"Taillow, try passing through those rings!" Out of the four rings that Kyle had set up of progressively smaller sizes, Taillow passed through three successfully. Not the most desired result, but Taillow was showing improvement. After all, one couldn't expect a single day of training, or even several days of training to do the job of perfecting Taillow's skills.

"Taillow, now try breaking those rocks with Steel Wing!" Taillow managed to keep his concentration long enough to break two rocks into many pieces, creating a mini-storm of rock debris.

"Now, Taillow, try breaking both of the targets up there," Kyle said as he pointed toward the new targets in a nearby tree. This was the one part of the training Taillow had been good at from the start, so it came as no surprise that Taillow again passed through both targets successfully.

"You did a great job, Taillow!" Kyle yelled as he ran to congratulate his Pokemon.

"Taillow!" he cawed happily.

"You did a fine job of training today, Kyle." Ryo said as he walked up with Josh and Casey close behind.

"Yeah, Kyle. You might just be good enough to beat Slateport Conference." Casey observed.

"'Might be'? Just what is **that** supposed to mean?" Kyle asked sharply.

"That's supposed to mean that Caryl or one of the other trainers just might be better than you."

"Is that so, Casey?" Kyle asked in an angry tone.

"Yeah. Want to make something of it?" Casey fired back.

This began a rarity, Casey arguing with someone other than Josh. He still had to listen to it full-blast, though, which made Ryo feel a little sorry for him. But at the same time, Ryo was glad it wasn't him.

2 days later-

The Digidestined board a ferry and take off in the direction of Slateport City. They wait for awhile and see if Trey Miller would show up at some point. When he didn't show up, they had to climb onboard without him.

Josh, Kyle, Casey and Ryo all figured that chances were that they would see Trey and his partner Dakarimon somewhere down the line. They had no idea how right they were, for about an hour after the children left port, a Lapras towing a giant Magikarp was seen leaving Dewford Island…

Next Time: The Digidestined explore the Abandoned Ship, the S.S. Cactus. Who's causing nightmares for all who board the ship, and why is someone living on the ship in the first place? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!

Also, next time, our narrator returns after a well-deserved vacation. What did he do on his vacation? Stay tuned in the near futurefor the first ever Digicross Advanced Omake: "What to do on Vacation When You're a Disembodied Voice"!


	20. Omake 1: What to Do on Vacation When You...

Digicross Advanced Omake 1: "What to Do on Vacation When You're a Disembodied Voice"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Cameraman: "Today, we find ourselves standing outside the office of the president and co-founder of Digicross Advanced Productions, Josh Johannesen. We've been invited here because Josh has a special treat for us. Let's go inside, shall we?"

The office is very extravagant, filled with pictures of family and friends and many amenities not seen out in the hallway. At the back of the office is a young man yelling into the phone.

Josh: "I told you that the actors have the day off! … No, they're not being fired, they're being given a vacation day. … They'll be back to work tomorrow! Goodbye!"

The young man slammed down the phone. "Actors, can't live with them, can't give them a swift kick in the…" It was as that point that the young man, Josh, turned toward the camera and blushed, suddenly realizing that he was on TV at that moment.

Josh: "Oh… Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know we were on already. Good evening or morning or afternoon out there in TV land. Welcome to a special edition of Digicross Advanced! I'm your host for the evening, Josh Johannesen. We're here today for a special event at the Narrator's house. What, you might ask? Why, we're going over there to watch post-vacation slides with the Narrator, of course!"

Josh came out from behind the desk and the cameraman began to follow him toward the door of his office.

Josh: "All I have to do right now is gather the troops, so to speak, and we'll be on our way! Come on now!"

Josh and the cameraman left the office to go down the hall of the Digicross Advanced Productions 3rd Floor. After about 30 seconds, they ran into a door marked "Vice-President".

Josh: "Ah, yes. That's the office of our Vice-President, who has chosen to remain anonymous. He's the kind of guy who doesn't speak much and doesn't do much to assist the company, but he's also the guy you want on your side because he has all the money and connections you will ever need."

Josh knocked on the vice-president's door. "What do you want?" a loud voice boomed from inside the room.

Josh opened the door into a very dark office. So dark, in fact, that all you could see of the vice-president was his silhouette. "We're going to go to Narrator's house to watch post-vacation slides. Do you want to come?"

The voice boomed again, "No! I've got plenty of work to do around here, so just go without me!"

Josh shook his head. "Suit yourself. See ya!" Josh slammed the door behind him.

Josh led the cameraman into the elevator. He pushed a button and they rode down to the 2nd floor of the building. The Digicross Advanced Productions building wasn't humongous by any stretch of the imagination, but it was large enough to house the entire staff of Digicross Advanced.

Ding! Josh: "Ah, here we are on the 2nd floor of our little building. It's here that the magic of Digicross Advanced really comes to life."

After about 30 seconds of wandering down a hall, they finally came to a door marked, "Editor-in-chief".

Josh: "Ah, this is the office of our editor-in-chief, Scott Evans. He's the guy who edits everything that comes out of this office before it goes to the home office in Vancouver, British Columbia. Seems like a long way for things to go from Los Angeles, but that's life, I guess."

Josh opened the door to Scott's office and the scene inside the office could only be described as an editor's worst nightmare; piles of papers stacked to the roof of the room and as far as the eye could see. As a result, Scott was not visible and in fact Scott's desk wasn't even visible among the piles of papers in the room.

Josh: "Scott! Are you in here?"

A voice came from somewhere amongst the piles of papers. "Of course I'm in here, Josh! If I wasn't this work would never get done!"

The cameraman steps over some papers and eventually the viewing audience can see Scott looking over papers at his desk.

Scott in an annoyed tone: "You know, if certain people didn't crank out episodes at a rate of one per week, maybe I'd actually get some work done around here!"

Josh almost immediately looked down at the floor, knowing that he was the culprit. "Sorry, Scott."

Scott shook his head as he stood up and came around the desk. "I don't think there's any need to apologize. The fans love the fact that the storyline is moving rather fast, at least I think so, especially considering that nothing is coming out of the home office."

Josh brought his head back up and looked at Scott. "Anyway, the reason I'm in here is to give you a day off from all this editing and go over to the Narrator's house."

Scott: "Why? What's Narrator doing at his house?"

Josh: "Post-vacation slides."

Scott thinks, then smiles a little bit. "Sure. I like vacation slide shows. It's a nice chance to see where you'll never go yourself in your lifetime."

Josh sweatdrops, not thinking of that way of looking at things. "Well, come on. We'll go downstairs and head on out after checking in on Trey Miller, the newest writer to join the Digicross Advanced staff."

Josh, Scott and the cameraman walks out of the office and Josh shuts the door behind them. Scott has to shove a few wayward papers back underneath the door.

After a few seconds of wandering the halls, they came upon a room with a very strange name, the "Shadow Room".

Josh looked at the room. "Scott, you never told me why you had me install this room when you came onto the staff."

Scott smirked and said, "Let's say it's a little… extra motivation for those special cases."

Josh: "What's inside that room, anyway?"

Scott: "Ohh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that…"

Josh: "That doesn't answer my question."

Scott: "I used a little Shadow Magic to conjure up some things that would scare the living daylights out of anyone, even you, Josh."

Josh: "But how is that supposed to motivate people? Wouldn't that just make them less willing to do work?"

Scott smiled wider. "Not really. I also added an additional… motivating factor…"

Josh and the cameraman sweatdropped and Josh imagined what Scott was talking about. Rising water levels… walls slowly closing in… slowly intensifying flames… and so on…

Josh looked at Scott like Scott was nuts and they silently decided to walk on without saying another word about this "Shadow Room". Silently, Josh told himself that he never wanted to have a reason to visit the "Shadow Room".

At the end of the 2nd floor hallway was a room marked, "Creative Department". Josh smiled. "This is the room in which our writers go when they want some motivation to complete their work." He looks at Scott and asks, "Didn't you say that Trey was in here?"

Scott: "That's right. Trey said he needed the motivation."

Josh opened the door and almost immediately a blast of hot air hit everyone nearby. The camera lens steams up for a moment, leaving the viewing public with not a great view of the action. After the lens is cleaned off, it is shown that the Creative Department's room was, in fact, a room which looked like something out of a writer's worst nightmare.

The room was a sort of furnace with lots of red on the walls and was about as hot as Arizona could get in the summer. In the middle of the room sat a young man at a desk. Not only that, he was also shackled to said desk.

Josh: "What the heck did you do to this room, anyway?"

Scott smirks. "Exactly."

Josh: "This is your idea of providing motivation?"

Scott pointed to Trey and observed, "Look how much faster he's working under these conditions, Josh!"

Josh palmed his face and said, "I'm so glad I'm not under you in this company…"

When Trey heard that, he turned around and said, "This isn't so bad. I've been through worse jobs than this."

Josh did a double take and simply thought, "I can't imagine what would be worse than this, and I'm not sure I want to know…"

After a quick check on the 20th episode of Digicross Advanced, they split.

On the first floor, Josh told his secretary, Yim, to hold all of his calls until he got back in building.

And with that, Scott, Josh and the cameraman left the building and got into an old van and drove off. Scott: "Josh, why do you have such a nice office and such a crappy car?"

Josh blushes. "What can I say? I spent all my money on the office…"

20 Minutes Later, Narrator's House-

Scott reads the address. "4105 Sound Stage Boulevard? What kind of a name for a street is Sound Stage Boulevard?"

Josh: "Hey, it's Hollywood, isn't it?"

Scott thinks for a moment then nods.

(Disclaimer: There is no such street as Sound Stage Boulevard as far as we know. Don't go looking for it; you'll probably just end up disappointed.)

Scott, Josh and the cameraman depart the cruddy old van and begin the walk up to the Narrator's door.

Scott: "Josh, have you ever seen the Narrator? I mean, in person?"

Josh thought for a minute, and then answered, "No. I've only talked with him via telephone."

As it turned out, no one had ever seen the voice of Digicross Advanced, the Narrator, in person before. So it was going to be a very exciting moment for someone.

They walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. From inside the house, the familiar voice of the Narrator came. "Who is it?"

Josh: "It's me, Josh! I brought Scott and the general public as well!"

Narrator: "Yay! The door's open. Come on in!"

Josh opened the door and Scott, the cameraman and him entered. They looked around for the narrator, expecting to find a human with a distinctive voice, but after some effort and some more tidbits from the narrator along the lines of that pool game Marco Polo, they finally found the narrator… who was personified by a CD Boombox.

Narrator: "Hi there, welcome to my home!"

Josh and Scott looked at the boombox skeptically. Scott said with a small hint of anger, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Narrator would have shaken his head if he had one. "Nope. This is the real me."

Josh yelled out the obvious. "YOU'RE A BOOMBOX!"

Narrator: "Yep. I started life as a little tape recorder, but now look at me!"

Both Josh and Scott sweatdropped.

Narrator: "Anyway, I know why you're here, to see my slides of my vacation!"

The Narrator hopped (the best you could hope for when you're a boombox, I suppose) into position behind the slide projector. Scott and Josh took seats on the nearby couch and the cameraman got into a position where he would be able to show all of the action to the viewing audience.

It was then that the Narrator remembered something. "Hey, Josh. Do you mind running the slideshow for me? I'm kind of disembodied here."

Josh: "Then how in the world have you been contacting us all this time?"

Narrator: "Wireless communication."

Large sweatdrops came from both Josh and Scott. Josh gets up and sits at the projector, ready to hit the button when requested by Narrator. Josh flips the switch and the first slide is up on the screen.

It's a picture of Narrator (the CD boombox), his wife (a stereo rack) and his kids (a bunch of tiny "kiddie" tape recorders) standing in front of their car. "This is me and my kids in front of the car, getting ready to go on our big trip across America!" Narrator said.

When Narrator stopped talking, Josh hit the button and a picture of the Grand Canyon came up. That wasn't what was remarkable. What was remarkable was the fact that Narrator's kids were watching as Narrator tried his best to ride a donkey down the Grand Canyon. "Ah, this was when we went to the Grand Canyon. It was fun trying to ride a donkey all the way down the Canyon."

The next picture was Narrator falling off the donkey from the last picture. If Narrator could have sweatdropped, he would have. "Uhhh… let's move on to the next one, shall we?"

Scott and Josh shared a few laughs at Narrator's expense, but Narrator was okay with it. After all, if he wasn't he wouldn't have put it into the slideshow…

Josh pushed the button and a picture of Narrator at the Gateway Arch came up. "Ah, yes. This was when we went to St. Louis. Nice city, if a little mean to disembodied voices. I mean, those folks would not give us a break. But at least we got to see the Gateway Arch."

Josh pushed the button and a picture of Narrator's wife at the Statue of Liberty. "Ah, the Statue of Liberty in New York. My wife almost got sick from the height of the thing, but this picture of my wife set against the backdrop of New York City was all worth while. Though I did have to give her a barf bag thereafter…"

The next picture showed the Narrator's family onboard a roller coaster. "Down at Six Flags in Texas, we had the time of our lives riding all of the exciting rides there. This was taken of us on one of the more popular rides there."

Scott asked a pretty obvious question. "Did your wife get sick again?"

Narrator said in a bit of an embarrassed tone, "Yes, she did."

Josh quickly pressed the button and they were seen outside of Seattle's famous Space Needle. "This was when we went to Seattle. Not a good place for a Narrator like myself. Too much rain there."

Josh and Scott nodded in acknowledgement.

Narrator: "Anyway, this is the giant Space Needle there. After the Statue of Liberty fiasco, we decided it was better to have us stand at the bottom and take a picture of the Space Needle."

Scott: "Wait, you went to Seattle and visited the Space Needle but didn't actually go up into the Needle!"

Narrator: "As I said, I didn't want or need the wife to ask for another barf bag."

After pressing the button again, Josh and Scott saw a picture of Narrator in the front entryway of a dining hall. "This was when we got invited to a Narrator's conference near Gary, Indiana. Since I figured I needed to look my best, I got all dressed up for the occasion. Push the button, please."

Josh pressed the button and the picture they were used to seeing of Narrator changed from a CD boombox to a jukebox. Both Scott and Josh were impressed that Narrator got dressed up for the situation. "Do you two want to know how I did that?"

Josh and Scott nodded their heads.

Narrator: "OK…"

A sequence not unlike the digivolution sequences of the Digicross series occurred in front of their eyes.

"Narrator digivolve to… Fancy Narrator!"

Both Josh and Scott sweatdropped, and understandably so; after all, they never thought anyone other than Digimon digivolved. Narrator soon turned back to normal and insisted that they continue the slideshow.

Another push of the button revealed a large convention floor filled with sound devices of all types. Phonographs, record players, stereos, speakers and several other types filled the floor of the room. "This was the floor of the convention where we shared all sorts of new ideas and strategies for being a great narrator. It was a lively convention with many of the best narrators in history as the keynote speakers."

As Scott looked at the picture, he could make out speakers hanging on the wall. Jokingly, he said, "Did those narrators have too much to drink?"

Narrator: "I don't know why those narrators were on the wall. I got there a little late, I think."

After a large sweatdrop from Josh and Scott, Josh pressed the button and a picture of Narrator in his "normal attire" with his kids and wife appeared. But, this picture also had Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in it. "Ah, our visit to Disney World. We got to stand with Mickey and Donald and ride all sorts of things while we were there!"

Josh flatly said, "Please don't tell me your wife needed another barfbag…"

Narrator said happily, "Nope. She stayed firmly on the ground this time. She had some fun riding in the teacups at the park and being with all of the Disney characters."

Both of them nodded, glad it wasn't a recurring theme.

Narrator: "Needless to say, we went to Disney to give the children a good time as our vacation started to draw to a close. Of course, we did have fun ourselves."

Josh pushed the button and a very contrasting image appeared. A picture of Narrator in jail… "This was our last stop before we came home to Los Angeles. We stopped up in San Francisco and decided to pay a visit to Alcatraz Island."

Scott asked in a sarcastic voice, "Did you have fun in jail?"

Narrator answered: "I suppose about as much fun as one can have when behind bars."

Josh pushed the button and a picture of Narrator and his family appeared. This time, they were in front of their house. "And this was our return home just a couple days ago. As I look back on our vacation, we had a marvelous time."

Narrator turned to Josh and said, "On behalf of me and my family, I'd like to thank you for this vacation."

Josh nodded and smiled. "You're quite welcome." Josh turned to Scott and said, "Don't go expecting such vacations for you or Trey anytime soon…"

Scott sighed.

As Josh and Scott got back in Josh's cruddy old van, the cameraman spoke. "Well, that was quite a surprise, wasn't it? Narrator, a sound making device, went on a big vacation across this great land of ours with his family. I hope you enjoyed this special edition of Digicross Advanced, and we'll see you next time!"

Author's Notes:

Special thanks for specific ideas on today's show goes to Trey Miller, Scott Evans and the television show X-Play on G4.

Trey is indeed working on Episode 20 as we speak and will be up sometime in the next 3 weeks. Narrator will also be back for that episode. No authors were harmed in the making of this episode. At least not beyond sweating it out in Writer's Heck.

No electronics were seriously harmed in the making of this episode. Narrator and his family are trained professionals; don't try any of the things you saw here at home or anywhere else.

Scott Evans is an author known to have a special affinity for the Shadow Realm, hence the "Shadow Room". I'm sure many of you picked up on that, but if you didn't, here you go.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are copyrighted by Disney forever into infinity and beyond. (So was that last pun.)

Finally, if you have an idea for a comedy Omake, or want to get involved in a guest-author type of way in an Omake, drop me a line sometime.

I sincerely hope you've enjoyed the first of what will hopefully be many Omakes in the course of this series. Thank you for reading and come back for more fun next time on Digicross Advanced!


	21. Ep 20: The Haunted Ship

Digicross Advanced Series

Episode 20: The Haunted Ship

Written by: Trey Miller

AN: Note, there is a portion of this chapter that may be considered slightly disturbing. Please don't flame Josh because of this chapter. If you must flame someone, put a To Trey in your flaming review. Thanks.

Narrator Today, our heroes travel aboard the ferry to Slateport City, their next stop in the Hoenn League. Ryo and Kyle had found a place under the covered portion where they could rest in the shade and talk over strategies.

Kyle grinned, "Britany Spears?"

Ryo paused for a moment and then shrugged, "A six."

"I give her a seven," said Kyle.

Ryo looked at him incredulously, "A seven? Come on man, she's fake!"

Okay, so maybe they weren't talking strategies, but that's par for the course.

Josh and Casey were out front, grumbling and trying hard to hide the fact that they were enjoying the ride.

"You know, Josh, if you were to lean a bit farther over the rail, you could get a good view of the water when you drag me over with you!" Casey was of course glaring at the back of Josh's head as he leaned over the rail. Josh wisely ignored her as he leaned a bit farther out.

Ah, but enough with the simple nuances of each member. They were on their way to Slateport, home of their next challenge, and the contest! The ferry from Dewford was going to get them there fairly quick.

Well, it was supposed to.

A loud grating noise reverberated through the boat, causing screams of panic from some of the weaker people. Ryo and Kyle bounced around and quickly jumped to their feet. Josh fell forward, almost going over save for the fact that one of the workers grabbed him and hauled him back onboard.

"Easy there, son. You wouldn't want to take a dip!" He eyed the cuffs, "Especially with you being attached to her." The sandy haired worker sweatdropped as realization dawned about the cuffs. "Uhh, why are you two handcuffed?"

Casey glared. "For your information, we were put into /this/ situation thanks to an annoying... friend."

The worker chuckled sympathetically, but seeing as the two were safe, he quickly excused himself to go find out what had happened.

Ryo pulled himself to his feet and looked around, "What just happened?"

"Dunno, but something stopped the engines," stated Kyle. He too stood up and looked around. "Let's find Josh and Casey."

Ryo nodded and they left the crowded shade, wincing at the bright sun. Josh and Casey walked over to them and Josh asked the question on everyone's mind: "What happened to the engines?"

Ryo and Kyle shrugged.

"Attention all passengers," the ferry captain stepped from within the cabin, "It appears that something just caused our engines to seize up. Word has been sent to Slateport, and they're sending us help."

One of the other people on board called out, "When will they be here?"

"Shouldn't be more than three hours," said the captain with a sigh, "I'm sorry for the wait, and we will refund your money as soon as we get to Slateport."

Another person, this time a business man, hollered over the low rumble of twenty-something people talking in low voices: "Can we leave the boat if we have swimming or flying Pokemon?"

"I wouldn't advise it. This area is known for its large number of Tentacool and Tentacruel."

Casey groaned and facepalmed, "That's great... Now we're stuck out here."

"It could always be worse," said Ryo as he unhooked his Poke Balls and let out his group, "We could be stuck somewhere out in the middle of nowhere."

"Like...here?" Josh deadpanned.

Ryo fought the urge to fall on his face.

Taking Ryo's example, Casey, Josh, and Kyle summoned their monsters and let them relax and lounge around.

Meanwhile, about a mile or two south of them, Jessie, James, Meowth, Trey, and Dakarimon rested.

"I tell ya, if it wasn't for the fact that all of the Evil Digimon invasion and stuff like that happened, this world would probably already be signing relation agreements with the other two worlds," said Trey. He was lounged out on the back of Lapras, his hands behind his hat-covered head and his shades reflecting the ocean waves.

James frowned, "So what you're saying is that it's because of the Digidestined that things aren't going properly in you opinion?"

Dakarimon laughed as Trey frowned and sat up a bit. Trey scowled, "Now, I didn't say that. Let me try to explain-"

"Would you prefer I did the explaining?" asked Dakarimon. He too was on Lapras' shell, sitting cross-legged with a moistened towel acting as shade over him and sharpening the naginata.

Trey shrugged and waved his hand in consent.

"Alright, what Trey's trying to say," drawled Dakarimon, "It's classic knowledge that bad things will always happen to good people. You have good, honest Pokemon trainers, and criminal organizations will come into existence. You have good Digidestined and Digimon, and you'll get evil Digimon and corrupted Digidestined. You follow so far?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth all nodded slowly.

"Okay, then I'll continue. There are never other possibilities. Bad does not give birth to good. Good always comes first."

"And thus, I do see it as a slight fault that Digidestined gained access to this world even though that would have made it where I never would have met Dakarimon," said Trey.

Jessie sweatdropped, "But that would have been bad for you, wouldn't it?"

Trey nodded, "Indeed. I can't fault the happenings, because I don't know what lead to there being Destined here. Actually, all I really know is that Digimon appeared here and thus to balance the worlds, the Digidestined had to appear here to level the playing field."

Meowth nodded, "I tink I can see where youse are comin' from. If it wern't for th' fact dat dere's good in da woild, dere wouldn't be bad, right?"

Trey nodded, "Right on target."

Jessie frowned, "So what is all of this supposed to mean to us?"

"Well," Trey grinned, "I'm simply giving you something to mull over as we get on to your next lesson."

"Oh. So what are you going to be teaching us?"

"Actually, I'm going to have you-" he paused and rolled over, looking out to their front. "Huh... wonder what's going on with the ferry."

James stared at him incredulously, "You're worried about those brats?"

Trey nodded, his eyes hidden not only by the dust guards on the glasses, but by the angle of his head. His eyes, if James could have seen them, had gotten really cold and hard at James' response; his voice showed otherwise though.

"Remember James, those 'brats' are going to be your test subjects as you get stronger."

"Test subjects? What are you talking about?" asked Jessie, an annoyed look on her face.

"Yes, test subjects. Unless you want to get blasted away by people who you have no clue of their Pokemon or their strategies," said Trey, his voice getting sharp, "Think about it. With Ryo and them, you know their Pokemon. You at least have an advantage of fighting the same people time and time again as you get better."

"But... dat would make dem get better too!" exclaimed Meowth.

"Yes, that's true, but that's something you'll have to deal with. Your opponent will get better as you get better, thus making you have to get better," said Dakarimon.

The trio grumbled, but begrudgingly agreed with Trey and Dakarimon. They sat quietly mulling over what was to happen next.

"Okay, this is weird," said Dakarimon.

Jessie perked up, "What's going on?"

"It appears, from this distance, that our good friends are off the boat and high tailing it thataway," said Trey, pointing to their 2 o'clock direction.

Dakarimon looked at Jessie and the other two, "So, do you want to follow them or wait here?"

After a little bit of differing between those three, Jessie looked back over, "We're probably going to go over there anyway, so let's just get it over with."

Dakarimon nodded and patted Lapras' head and pointed and whispered. Lapras glanced back at the group seated on the Magikarp ship/sub/float/barge/projectile missile, and then she was putting all four of her flippers to the water and going.

Meowth fell overboard from the quick takeoff and climbed onto the tail, screeching and whining about saltwater in his fur. Jessie, James, Trey, and Dakarimon shared a rare laugh together.

Ten minutes prior, back when the Rocket-flops and Trey were busy in a discussion about test subjects and the like, the ferry wasn't going anywhere, and tempers were beginning to rise.

Ryo frowned and looked at Josh. "Got any fives?"

Josh frowned and shook his head and shifted his hand a bit farther away from Casey so that 'little miss nosey' couldn't cheat off of him, "Go fish." Said title for Casey had came prior to an acrobatic feat that could not even be comprehended by the human mind.

Let's just say, Josh was now going to be leaning very tenderly on his right leg.

Aquaris, Casey's Mudkip had been resting peacefully when all of a sudden, she had jumped up, hot-footed it over to the edge of the ferry (across the game of Go Fish), and then into the water, heading away from the ship.

Casey was up and to the edge of the ship, Josh being dragged along. She screamed out, "Aquaris! Come back!" Her partner kept on going, and Casey climbed up onto the rail, about to go overboard swimming after her, when the helpful attendant seemingly appeared out of nowhere and pulled her back onboard.

"Woah, easy, lass. Jumping over wouldn't be smart!"

Casey struggled, "Lemme go! I've got to help Aquaris!"

Josh had climbed to his feet and was now rubbing his very sore arm. 'Ow... why does that girl have to torture me?' Ryo and Kyle shared similar thoughts as they approached.

"That was your Pokemon that jumped overboard?" asked the man.

"Yes!" She continued trying to pull herself away even though now Josh, Ryo, and Kyle were helping to hold her back.

"In that case-" the guy dodged as Casey tried to floor him, "You could have just asked to use one of our inflatable rafts! Ye-owch!" He let go of her to hop on one foot, holding his other from where she'd stomped on it.

"What is going on here?"

Josh groaned and Kyle and Ryo sweatdropped at the sight of the captain.

The captain stood behind Josh, Casey, and the hopping attendant. Her hands were on her hips, and she looked annoyed.

Kyle stammered, "Ah, uhm..."

The captain cut him off, "Travis, stop jumping around!" she glared at the attendant.

"Sorry, Cap, but she kinda stomped on my foot!" Travis moaned as he stopped hopping and stepped tenderly on the foot.

She nodded, "Okay, so mind telling me what's going on?"

"My Mudkip! She's run off and I need to go find her!" shouted Casey. By now, there were people coming up to see what the commotion was.

"And you were, what? Going to jump ship and go after her?" the captain looked at the cuffs, "And to top it off, attached to him?"

Casey stopped and glanced at Josh who looked at her nervously. She opened her mouth to speak and stopped. She glanced at Josh and then at Kyle and Ryo who watch her apprehensively. "Uhm... I wasn't thinking," she said sheepishly.

"Right. If you and your friends want, we'll let you borrow one of the inflatable rafts. That way, you can go look and you'll be at least out of the water and away from the Tentacool and Tentacruel."

Ryo stepped forward before anyone else could say anything. "If you'd allow us to, it would be greatly appreciated." He nudged Casey gently, "Isn't that right?"

Casey nodded and bowed deeply, "If you would allow us a way to find my Mudkip, I'd be in your debt."

The captain shook her head, "No, I know what it's like to lose someone close to you..." she faded off in memory before Travis cleared his throat and caused her to jump back to this reality. "Oh, but no need keeping you with stories. Come this way."

Two minutes later, Ryo, Kyle, Josh and Casey were on a very well built inflatable raft (it was more an inflatable speedboat with engine, but that's par for the course) and on their way with the promise that they would page the boat with the little locator doodad that Travis had given them, the moment they found Aquaris.

Kyle sighed and looked at Ryo, puzzlement written on his face, "Remind me again why we're along for this?"

"To keep Josh and Casey from killing each other," replied Ryo. So far, the two had almost killed them all with their insane boat piloting techniques. It was quite obvious that neither had ever had any experience with any kind of vehicle other than a bicycle.

And Kyle and Ryo were both wondering just how many times a tree or other obstruction had won in the bike vs. obstruction war.

"Okay, da pilots of dat dere boat are either insane, or dey don't have no clue 'bout what dey're doing," said Meowth from his vantage point on top of Dakarimon's head.

"And you're either insane or have a death wish for climbing on me," said Dakarimon.

They were probably half a mile back. Not that that was saying much. The way Casey and Josh struggled to drive the boat, Trey and Lapras could have been a continent away. Not only could the Destined on board the ship see them, but they were also going on such a crazy path that Lapras, swimming at full bore like she was, was having trouble keeping anything close to pace with them.

Trey frowned, noting how much stress the constant speed was putting on his friend, "Alright Lapras, ease off the speed. If they get too far ahead, we can always backtrack to watch the ferry." At this, Lapras' speed dropped dramatically.

James sighed. This was going to be a long day, he could already tell.

"Okay Casey, I know this is your Pokemon we're after, but you don't have to drive this boat so hard!" shouted Josh over the roar of the wind and surf. The engine noise wasn't helping conversation between him and her either.

Casey glared at Josh who wisely stopped talking. She wasn't about to let anyone stop her from finding Aquaris. She glanced at Ryo and Kyle who, though looking like they were calm, had that scared outta their wits look in their eyes.

She slacked off the speed. Just a hair.

'Oh, Aquaris... where are you?'

Narrator Aquaris the Mudkip was almost some distance ahead of them when she came to her destination. Her aim: a large dilapidated ship. She had heard what could almost be considered the siren song of a kindred spirit- a fighter and a companion. Aquaris simply had to learn more.

The side of the ship, barely a foot off the crest of the waves, ground open as she approached and from within, a large silhouette looked out, eyes glowing ever so slightly an off gold color. Aquaris swam toward the opening and climbed on board. The side closed again, the rusted metal grating slightly as it slammed shut.

Well, that's it for Aquaris. She's toast! End of the episode! Nice knowing you!

Hello? ...Why yes, I'm quite sure that's all. ...What? What happens next?

Ohh, right... that's not the end? ...Well, it helps for me to get the entire script!

..Okay, I can understand. New intern. Gotcha. We're gonna have to break in the Shadow Room one of these days.

Anyway, back to our heroes and heroine. Why? Because if they're not giving up, then I'm sticking around to see how this all ends.

"Alright, Casey! Enough already!" Kyle screamed over the wind and surf, "You're going to kill us all if you keep this up!"

Ryo crab walked down to where Casey was and laid a hand on her shoulder, his other hand holding tight to the painter line. "Casey," he spoke in her ear, barely heard by her over the ambient noise, "Please, let Kyle or me run the boat. We'll find Aquaris. I promise."

Kyle slid down to the back of the boat (a bad move with all of the weight in the back, and at the speeds they were going! Heaven forbid they get hit from the front by a cresting wave or a heavy crosswind!) and pleaded with Casey too.

She let Ryo control the boat as she grabbed hold of Kyle and started crying into his shoulder.

Kyle looked at Josh, wide-eyed, only to see the other boy stare back, shocked looks mirrored on their faces. They both glanced at Ryo who motioned for Kyle to hold her as she cried.

Josh looked at Ryo questioningly about Casey's emotional breakdown. Ryo stared at him with a 'think about it!' look. Josh blinked as it dawned on him. Casey was upset because of the loss of her friend and companion. For her, it was hopefully a- no, it WAS simply a temporary loss, with Aquaris having ran off.

Ryo had carefully throttled down on the motor and they were now cruising at a calmer speed, the bow had dropped, and instead of the erratic movement of the cross waves, the boat rose and fell softer.

After a few minutes, Casey had calmed down and was now sitting against the side of the boat, slumped. Josh couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but there really wasn't much he could do.

"Hey, Casey..." started Ryo, softly.

"Hmm?" Casey looked up.

"There's a large ship up ahead. It's really ran down and looks like it's not exactly the safest place, but in all honesty, that's the only place I can think of that Aquaris may have gone to." Ryo was almost hoping she'd say no.

The ship that Ryo had seen was indeed the same one that, unknowingly to them, Aquaris had entered a little while prior. It was, to say the least, quite overgrown. Aquatic vines and the like had pulled the ship down and anchored it solidly in the, now semi-shallow water. It had to be at least a three floor ship, not counting what was underwater or had caved in from the age.

The hull appeared to be in fairly good condition, no major holes other than from what had probably been battles and entry-ways for wild Pokemon. One of the two smoke stacks was leaned out and over the water as if to be a cannon of sorts; the other stack had fallen in.

Kyle voiced the question on everyone's mind: "What was this?"

"Well, a few of the letters are missing, but it looks like it says K.M.S C-something-something-something-R. Or maybe that's an S," said Josh. He was squinting at the faded and sun washed lettering. "K.M.S.? I've never heard of that though..."

"That K could be an R, you know." said Casey.

Josh shrugged and chose to remain quiet.

Ryo pressed the question, "Should we look here for Aquaris, Casey?"

She thought for a moment and then nodded, "Yeah. Who knows? Maybe she's on here."

With the inflatable boat tied off to one of the older and extremely sturdy vines, Ryo and the others made their way up the vines to the deck.

Granted, there was one time when Josh slipped and almost fell. And then there was Kyle almost being knocked off of the vine by Casey for something that she considered inappropriate. Oh yes... Kyle learned that it was hazardous to speak ill about a 'ladies' figure, as Casey had said.

Josh and Ryo wisely stayed quiet.

The deck of the ship had apparently been the sight of an all out brawl between Pokemon a long time ago. What was left of the rotting wood slats that covered a steel floor showed signs of extreme conditions unknown by the weather around at least this part of Hoenn.

"We should probably split up to cover more ground," said Kyle. "And seeing as how Casey and Josh are already paired up, we'll just leave you two to search on your own. Don't kill each other while we're gone!"

With that, Kyle and Ryo made tracks one of the doors into the belly of the ship.

Casey and Josh stared after them speechless. Then they looked at each other and then back at where the two had been.

"You're leaving me with him!"

"You're making me stick with her!"

They glared at each other and Casey spat, "You're stuck with me? As if! They're leaving me to have to handle you!"

"Hah! If you think you're worth being around, you've got another thought coming!"

Oh yes... wouldn't be a search and rescue on a ship that is about to fall apart without those two arguing.

Ryo and Kyle down the hall slowly checking each room as they went. "Yanno Ryo," Kyle grinned, "I almost feel sorry for those two."

"Think we should go help them?" asked Ryo, a grin on his face too.

Kyle pretended to think about that for a moment and then they laughed. "Nah!"

Meanwhile... back at the Lapras-barge and Magikarp ship/sub/projectile, Jessie had retreated into the Rocket's legendary metal craft. James sat cross-legged on the hull, Meowth beside him, telling Trey and Dakarimon about a few of their more... interesting journeys.

"So anyway, it was kind of funny in an oft sense of the word when you wake up to find a Jigglypuff has drawn all over your face." James laughed.

Trey was almost ready to fall overboard, he was laughing so hard. "Oh man... it didn't use a permanent marker, did it?"

Meowth nodded solemnly, "Dat's what it used."

This pushed Trey and Dakarimon almost over the edge, and James and Meowth couldn't help but laugh about it too.

"Could you twerps keep it down so that I can get my beauty sleep!" Jessie opened the hatch and screamed at the four.

Trey's laughter died down as he got himself under control again. "Sorry Jess. But hearing about someone's experience with Jigglypuff's singing and waking up to find themselves marked on my the Jigglypuff is by far one of the funniest things I've ever heard."

Jessie fumed, "Well, keep it dow-" she stopped as she stared ahead. "What is that?" She pointed at the form of a ship up ahead.

Dakarimon looked up, "Looks like a ship."

Jessie rolled her eyes, "Well, of course it's a ship, but what's it doing out here?"

"Looks to be sitting dead in the water," deadpanned Trey.

James snorted, "Well, I don't think the twerps would be on board that thing. It looks much to rich for them."

Trey nodded absently, "Well, what say we go take a look, eh?"

James and Jessie looked at each other and shrugged, "You're the captain."

"Right. To the ship we go."

A few moments later, they too were at the ship. A cursory overview of the ship left James flustered.

Trey smirked, "If this is too rich for them, then I don't want to see where you people have to hang."

"For your information," started Jessie, "We are worth much more than those twerps and you put together!"

"Right... and that's why you're always failing, barely have enough cash to do anything, et cetera, et cetera." Dakarimon jumped from Lapras' back to one of the vines and grabbed on with one hand as his other manipulated the naginata to slice some of the vines. "Hmm... these have been here for a good long time."

Trey called out. "How can you tell?"

"Simple. They're really old." Dakarimon looked at the cleaved portion. "Now, mind, I know very, very little about plants, but from the thickness of the bark and the fact that these-" he pointed at some thinner vines," look younger and have a softer, smoother bark. These older ones are rough, hard, and... bark-like."

Trey sweatdropped, "Thank you, Tree-Hugger Dakarimon."

James blinked. "He's observant, isn't he?"

"He does a good Shurimon impression with those 'silent-but-deadly' skills of his," said Trey.

"Oh."

Jessie frowned, "You never told us how long you've known Dakarimon."

"Since I was about seven."

"Oh."

Dakarimon hopped from vine to vine as Trey guided Lapras around the ship. He got to the stern and crawled around it and then made his way to the port side. He called back at Lapras came around the stern, "Oi, guys! I found their boat tied up here!"

Trey nodded, "We'll park here and go deckside."

"Deckside?" asked Meowth, "You mean, we're going onto dat ship? It's about to fall apart!"

Trey called out, "Dakarimon, check it!"

Dakarimon jump-climbed up the vine to the deck and looked around. All was calm and the majority of the deck was still in one piece. He looked overboard, "It looks safe. Also looks like there was a battle here at one time."

Trey nodded, "Alright, if he says it's safe, we're going up."

"Why would we even want to go up there?" asked Jessie.

"One word: Treasure."

The money signs could almost be seen in the eyes of the Rocket-flops. Trey nodded and brought Lapras near the vines. He untied the rope that led to the Rocket-flops craft and hopped over to the vines and pulled their boat over to where it bumped the vine. He quickly lashed it to the vine and nodded, "Alright guys, you can come over now."

Dakarimon slid down to stand behind Trey. "I'll stay behind just in case they come back while you're gone." Trey nodded as he continued, "Lapras hasn't had much time to rest, so I'll going to let her swim around, get something to eat if she can find anything."

"Works for me." Trey handed Dakarimon Lapras' Pokeball. "Have fun man." He glanced around and then up to where Jessie, James, and Meowth were. They were already on their way up the vines. "Heh, nothing stops them if they get told there might be cash involved."

Dakarimon smirked, "Kinda remind you of a few other people?" He twirled the naginata and handed it to Trey, blade up. "Here. I'm getting a weird vibe from this ship."

"Dangerous?"

"Nope. Just... off."

Trey nodded, "Don't worry about me," he handed the naginata back, "If something happens, you'll hear the explosions."

Dakarimon muttered, "That's what worries me..."

Trey laughed and began climbing the vines. It took him a little bit of work to get up since his arm still wasn't completely healed.

At the top, he looked around. "Huh. They're gone." He shrugged, "I so did not expect anything different." He chuckled and wandered over to the farthest opening and entered.

Dakarimon sighed, "Okay, now comes the long wait..." He sat down and leaned back into the vines. "Meh, I'm getting some sleep."

With that, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

They hadn't even gone below the first floor down, Ryo realized, yet it was so dark, dank, and cold- not to mention quiet, that he and Kyle may have been down several hundred feet.

"It's quiet..." started Kyle, ominously.

"Oh, shaddap..." Ryo grinned and triggered the toggle for Charmeleon's Pokeball.

The rust-red draconic appeared in a red flash, his tailflame immediately illuminating the room around them. "Ryo?" he drawled, "Where are we?"

"On a ship."

"...Are we underwater?" asked the dragon.

"Nope."

Charmeleon nodded, "Okay, so why is there a wall of water coming toward us?" He stared at an onrush of water behind Ryo and Kyle.

"Water?" Ryo and Kyle turned around and stared. Their eyes got really big. They turned.

And Kyle outdistanced Ryo and Charmeleon by a long shot. He was through the door to the next room and through the next two doors before Ryo and Charmeleon had even gotten through the first door.

"Hey, wait up!" yelped Charmeleon. The door to the next room closed right in front of him and he slid snout first into it followed almost instantly be Ryo right beside him.

Ryo slowly pulled himself up off the floor, "Ow... Anyone catch the number on that door?"

"I think it was seven," groaned Charmeleon as he rolled over and rubbed his snout. He glanced back and stopped, "Weren't we just running from a wall of water?"

Ryo looked back too, "Uhm... Yeah. Weren't we?"

They looked at each other, matching looks of confusion on their faces. "Okay, this is getting weird..."

Kyle finally stopped as he ran through about the tenth room and slammed the door behind him, throwing the deadbolt, and dropping to the floor, gasping for breath.

After about thirty seconds, he caught his breath enough and looked around. No water. No Ryo. No Charmeleon. Something wasn't jiving...

He heard voices in the hallway and quickly got up and made his way out the door. "Hello?" He looked to the left and saw someone turning the corner. "Hey! Wait up!" He took off after the person.

"Alright, don't you think we would have seen someone or something?" asked Jessie. She was fuming. They had only been below-deck for less than two minutes when her impatience showed itself.

It was easy for them to see each other in the candlelight, and the annoyed look on Jessie's face looked down right murdersome in the flickering light. Meowth's gold coin reflected the candlelight as he turned to face James.

"Yanno, James, I think she's right! Dat Trey lied to us!" Meowth opened the door to another room and looked in. He closed the door in disgust and shook his head. "Let's get back to our ship and get outta here!"

James sighed. He knew there was something here, he could almost taste it. "But..." Jessie and Meowth were right. "Let's check one more room, okay?" He looked between the two and got a reluctant nod from them.

'Okay... let there be something...' James closed his eyes and pushed open the door to a room that they hadn't been into.

"Oh, wow." "Ahhh! Beauty-ful!" James opened his eyes at the sounds of his companions' excitement and he too looked in the room.

Gold. Jewels. Piled to the top of the room and spread all over. Unfortunately, the door wasn't quite big enough for three people- or rather, two people and one Meowth.

"'ey! Gerroff me!" Meowth scratched Jessie and James enough that they jerked back, and then he was in.

"My beautiful face!" James ignored Jessie's wailing as he too made his way into the room quickly.

Jessie got over her pain too and dove into the piles of riches. Quite quickly, all three of them were wrapped up in expensive, exquisite, pretty things.

"Ah, okay, I'm happy now," sighed Jessie.

"Yeah... let's just forget da boss and live our lives in luxur-ee! Mrowl!" Meowth, as could be seen from him actually 'degrading' himself by talking like a feline, was in kitty-heaven.

"I agree completely, Meowth! Let's skip the boss ad let's quit Team Rocket and go own the world!" James sat up quickly, a fairly decorated crown on his head slipped. He exclaimed, "You know what I wish? I wish there was more here!"

"More?" queued Jessie. She blinked and then her eyes took on the greedy gleam, "Yes, more! Much more! To the top of the ceiling!"

"Yeah! Dat'd be great!" shouted Meowth excitedly.

The door to the room slammed shut- hard, the echo reverberating through the room loudly. Jessie and James screamed like little girls. Meowth simply made like a Diglett and dug under to gold to hide.

A minute went by and James blinked, "Okay, what just happened?"

Jessie shrugged. Meowth popped back up and slapped a trinket from his head, "Someone must've slammed dat door on us! Dey must think we're sissies!"

Plink!

Jessie looked around, "What was that?"

"How would I know?" asked James.

Plinkplink!

"...Okay, dat's getting kinda creepy," muttered Meowth.

Jessie looked around wildly, "Where is it coming from?"

"Dunno, but I want to know what 'it' is," answered James. He dug himself out of the pile and crawled over to the door and tried opening it. "The door's locked!"

"And I see where that sound is coming from!" screeched Meowth pointing to the roof. "Look!"

Plinkplinkplinkplinkplinkplink!

In the ceiling, there was a hole. Through the hole poured coin and jewel after coin and jewel. And the hole was growing bigger; so was the amount of riches falling in too.

James stared in dumbfounded terror. His wish had come true. Not the way he wanted it to, mind, but it would work. If only he could get this old door open now!

Jessie was screaming something like "I'm too young to die!" She was up to her stomach in the gold and it was rising.

The only part of Meowth that could still be seen was his twitching ears, and James blinked in surprise as the hole grew double the size in a second and Jessie was covered with a muffled shriek as her last word.

James looked down. The gold was already up to his chest. And then the sudden reality struck.

He screamed.

Or rather, he tried. His voice stuck in his throat and all he could do was squeak.

And still the level of riches rose. James could barely breathe with all of it pushing on his chest. He couldn't open his mouth any more and he could barely see over the jewels.

And then he could breathe.

James uncurled from the fetal position that he had somehow gotten into and looked around. There was no gold, no jewels, no nothing. Only Jessie and Meowth were in the room with him, both of who were coming out of their own curls.

"What-" gasp "-was that?" asked Jessie amidst heavy breathing.

James shook his head and rasped out, "I don't know." In a rare moment of actual thinking, he continued, "I think it was my wish though."

"Your wish?" asked Meowth, he was the quickest to recover, "What does dat wish of yours have to do with dis?"

"I wished for more gold in this room," said James softly.

"But we were here, too," said Jessie.

James shrugged, "That's the only thing I can think of that-" the lock slipped and the door swung open, interrupting James, "-would... I'm getting out of this room!"

He shot out the door followed closely by Jessie and a scream from Meowth: "Don't leave me!" followed closely by the feline Pokemon.

Josh and Casey made their way down the stairs to the second floor, griping at each other and blaming one thing after another on the other 'twin'.

Their latest argument: Josh had tripped and caused Casey to fall head-first into a wall. Now the girl sported a nice blazing bruise on her forehead.

"You did that on purpose!" screamed Casey.

Josh yelled back, "I did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"You did!"

"Did not!"

The ship seemed to groan in agony as Josh and Casey continued screaming at each other.

Trey made his way through the first floor rooms humming idly. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of anyone, and was wondering just where everyone was.

He walked down the stairs to the next floor and stopped at the bottom and looked around. "Hmm... which way, which way..." He shrugged and headed down the more lit path.

As he ventured farther, he noticed that the temperature in the hall was becoming warmer and moister- much warmer than it should have been in an abandoned ship that hadn't fired up its engines on who knows how long.

And then the ship tilted. Trey yelped as he went flying sideways into the wall, landing on his still healing arm. He screamed in agony as the bone broke again.

The ship grew even hotter as Trey rolled around holding his arm, sobbing. Gravity shifted again, this time throwing him to the other wall, now making where he had landed the 'ceiling'

And then he was lying on the floor. His arm was throbbing, but it didn't seem broken. "Oh man... that was intense..." Trey gasped out.

He had the strong feeling that whatever secret this ship was hiding, it wasn't meant to be found by him.

Dakarimon had felt Trey's terror and pain from his position outside, and he had instantly recalled Lapras and had entered the ship less than five seconds later.

He turned a corner at a full blown run only to get clotheslined by a dark clothed assailant. He climbed to his feet and turned around just in time to fend off a flurry of punches and kicks from his opponent.

"I don't have time for this!" He knocked the flying limbs away and quickly readied his naginata. He then proceeded with a quick jab that was blocked by his opponent's naginata.

Dakarimon was then greeted by a round of staff blows followed by an extremely high powered water blast that slammed him through two walls.

Dakarimon groaned and got to his feet slowly. He looked around and stretched out his senses but only just caught the faint shuffle of cloth from behind.

He whirled and, acting solely on instinct swung his naginata at the fighter's neck. His mind whirled as he realized what had just happened. It was a stalemate.

Both he and his opponent had stopped their staff swings with the wood staffs touching each others necks.

Dakarimon queued his masked opponent, "Who are you?"

The other reached up and tugged off the mask, revealing a face very familiar to the lupine Digimon. A grin stretched across the face as he chuckled, "I'm you."

A flash of light an instant later, and Dakarimon was left standing, shocked.

As his mind began mulling over the information, he took off again. He had to find Trey to make sure his friend was safe.

Kyle and Ryo and Charmeleon had met back up mid ways through the second floor and Kyle got the ranting of his life by the fire lizard.

They made their way slowly through the second floor and began the walk down the stairs to the third floor.

After a minute of walking, Kyle stopped. He glanced back at Ryo, "Am I the only one who thinks that these stairs should have already put us on the third floor?"

Charmeleon shrugged, "Well, the ship could be really deep and they may have needed the long stairs to accommodate say, a battle stadium?"

Ryo shook his head, "Possible, yes, but not probable. This ship isn't wide enough for there to be a battle stadium this tall."

"So, what?" asked Kyle, "Are you saying this ship is trying to keep us from what ever is down below?"

Ryo and Charmeleon looked at each other and then back at Kyle. Ryo replied, "Well, what else could it be other than a haunted ship?"

"Dunno, but this had better not be something really big."

They continued down the stairs and at minute number two, Kyle stopped again. "Charmeleon, would you mind throwing a fireball down the stairs?"

Ryo and Charmeleon looked at each other frightened. "Wouldn't that be bad?" asked Ryo.

"Yeah, I really don't want to burn this ship down around us," added Charmeleon.

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Okay, can you at least make a big light show so that we can see how far these stairs have to go?"

Charmeleon focused and brightened his tailflame until it lit up a good thirty feet fore and aft of their group. Nothing but stairs in both directions.

Ryo sighed, "Okay, that's not very productive..."

"Well, seeing as this seems to be a never-ending set of stairs, let's keep on going," said Kyle.

Thy continued walking, Kyle leading and Ryo following with Charmeleon taking the tail end, but after another minute, they stopped again.

This time, it was Charmeleon who stopped them. "Okay," drawled the Pokemon, "I'm sure about it now..."

Kyle and Ryo turned around and looked at Charmeleon. Ryo asked the question on their minds, "What are you sure of?"

"The walls."

"Huh?"

"They're getting closer together."

Kyle blinked and leaned over toward a wall to see around Ryo, "What do you mean?"

Charmeleon rolled his eyes, "Did you have to lean over to talk back the last time we stopped?"

Kyle and Ryo exchanged looks. Charmeleon had a point. "Okay, let's go back up," said Ryo.

Kyle and Charmeleon nodded, and after a bit of wrangling, Charmeleon turned around and they began the trek back up.

Less than ten seconds later, Charmeleon stopped. In the light of his tailflame, Ryo and Kyle could see the problem. There was a wall there.

"Okay, that wasn't there before..." muttered Charmeleon.

Kyle turned around and ran smack into another wall.

They were cornered on both sides.

"Charmeleon, I know you don't want to try it, but try burning the wall," commanded Ryo.

"You got it! Rah!" He fired off a flamethrower that was powerful enough to burn through a tree.

After a few, he stopped and stared at the wall. There was barely a scratch! "Uhm... that might be harder to do than we thought..."

Kyle glanced back and blinked. He could have sworn that the wall had moved closer. "So what do we do?"

"I guess we wait." replied Ryo.

A minute later, both he and Charmeleon realized that the walls were indeed getting closer. Charmeleon by having his nose smudged by the wall, and Kyle by the wall bumping him into Ryo.

"Uh, this could be a problem, guys," said Ryo.

"Call me back, Ryo, it'll give you two some more room!" said Charmeleon.

Ryo nodded and recalled Charmeleon to his Pokeball and sighed as he and Kyle shifted positions so that they had a bit more room.

But the walls kept coming together, now even faster.

"Dude, if we don't make it, it's been nice knowing you!" grunted Ryo.

Kyle nodded, "Yeah, same here!"

They were both side by side and being squeezed between the two walls.

And then they were falling to the floor.

Kyle and Ryo picked themselves up off the wood floor of the third level and looked around. It was a larger than the other two levels prior, but it still had the dark, militaristic look to the wood and metal that denoted that this was a business ship, not a pleasure cruise.

"Okay, what next?" asked Ryo.

Kyle sighed, "I honestly don't know."

"I told you that you didn't know where we were going!"

"Oh be quiet already!"

Casey hu-rump'd and looked away, fuming. "Not only did you give me a concussion, but now you've gotten us lost, too!"

Josh glared at her, "Oh sure, when we were on the boat you were crying because your Aquaris was gone!" He mimed her, "Oh, boo-hoo! I'm soo sad! I've lost my Aquaris! She ran away because I'm so annoying!"

Josh's face met the rough wood grain of the floor thanks to a mallet smackdown from Casey. What mallet? You know… one of those magical mallets that angry women some how always managed to pull out of no where.

"...Ow."

She snorted, "Serves you right."

Casey proceeded to drag Josh through the rest of the third floor to where a large metal door sat closed.

Josh climbed to his feet and looked at the door in front. His only word summed it up nicely: "Wow."

"Yeah..."

With that, Josh and Casey approached the door. Casey grabbed the handle and with Josh helping, opened the door just enough for them to enter.

"Are we dere yet?"

"No Meowth."

"Are we dere, yet?"

"No, Meowth."

"Are we d-"

"IF YOU ASK THAT AGAIN, YOU'RE SWIMMING TO SHORE!"

That, of course, was Jessie.

Team Rocket-Flop had successfully made their way down to the third floor without any more problems. Well, that is until now.

"I knew it!"

Jessie, James, and Meowth spun around at the accusation and stared at Ryo and Kyle who ready for battle.

"It's da twerps!" screeched Meowth, using one of the most classic Team Rocket-Flop 'You surprised me! Have at you!' lines.

"So you three were behind these things! We should have known!" Ryo grumbled as he prepared Charmeleon's Pokeball.

Jessie laughed, "Behind this? We wish!"

James nodded, "If we could be half as successful with a trap like this, we'd already be rich!"

"Well, I've seen crazier things," said Kyle.

"Ladies, do we have a problem here?"

Everyone turned to see who had spoken this time. Kyle grinned, "Trey! Good to see you!"

Trey walked forward, "Hey guys. What's up?"

"They're behind every-" "We're trying to find some way to get rich and-" They're trying to get our Pokemon again!" "How can dey say things like dat when we ain't even seen dem 'til now?" "You were planning on-"

Trey hollered out, "Hold it!"

Everyone kept screaming at each other, ignoring Trey. "Well, this is a waste of time..." He sighed and shook his head before walking down the hall that lead to the large door that Josh and Casey had entered moments before.

Dakarimon walked by, saw them arguing, and sweatdropped. "I do not want to know what that's all about," muttered he before walking on.

And so Jessie, James, Meowth, Ryo, and Kyle continued their argument oblivious to the fact that they were the only ones fighting.

Meanwhile, everyone, sans the bickering five, found themselves in a large room. In the room, there were boxes of different sizes and shapes. There were also four Pokemon within said room too.

One of those four was Aquaris who, when Casey had seen her, had erupted in a teary reunion with Josh hanging on for dear life.

The other three were a bit different. An Alakazam, a Hypno, and a Swampert. The thing is, those three were ancient. Ancient as in old and well experienced in life.

Why they were there became evident to Trey who was reading the letter presented to him by the Swampert.

Trey read aloud for the sake of Dakarimon who was staring at the three Old Ones in awe and reverence: "This letter is to any trainer who has been deemed worthy by the guardians of the K.M.S Corpus. I am an old man now, one who served aboard this ship for two wars a long time ago. In my trips, I gained an enormous amount of money and items which are now housed in this room, guarded by my old partners. As a way to show that you have succeeded in the trials of this ship, I offer to you a gift of one box per person. Please do not take more than that, because my partners may be old, but they were also unbeatable. If you were to do something dishonorable, they would stop you. But please feel free to take a gift when you go. Yours truly, Captain George Francis Erikson."

Trey blinked in surprise, "Wow. Intense."

Josh nodded, "That's pretty much what I said too."

"Huh..." Trey folded the letter back up and handed to back to the Swampert with a deep bow. The Swampert bowed in return as it took the letter back.

"So, what do we do?" asked Casey.

"Well, for starters. My question is why you guys were booking it from the ferry?" asked Trey.

Casey nodded, "Aquaris ran off and we had to go find her." What he said finally dawned, "Wait... you were following us?"

Dakarimon laughed, "More like, on the same path, only we were a bit behind you."

Josh frowned, "We waited for you, but you never showed."

"Sorry," Trey apologized sheepishly, "I was having my last checkup with Nurse Joy," he raised the splinted arm, "I'm told that as long as I don't do anything major, I won't have to worry about it healing wrong."

Josh and Casey nodded. It made sense. "So, are you with Team Rocket, now?" asked Casey.

Trey and Dakarimon glanced at each other, "Not exactly. More like, I'm their food ticket for the time, and they're my source of comic relief."

"Food ticket?"

"Yeah, they're kinda dirt poor right now, living out of their clothes and all that other stuff."

"Trey here has one of these hero complexes almost," grinned Dakarimon.

Trey laughed. "So what do we do about these things?" He waved his hand around the room.

Josh shrugged, "It says to take one for each person in this room that has passed the test."

Dakarimon smirked, "Pretty much rules those guys out there out, eh?"

Casey and Josh nodded after a moment of thinking.

"So, four boxes. Shall we choose?" asked Trey.

Everyone nodded and walked over to a pile, and after careful deliberation and confident Gift Forensic Science (yes, that includes shaking, poking, trying to have x-ray vision, blowing on it, measuring them, etc etc), the four of them met back with four separate boxes.

Josh looked around, "On the count of three, okay?" Everyone nodded.

Trey grinned, "One!"

"Two!" laughed Casey.

"Three!" shouted everyone.

With much gusto, they all tore into their boxes.

"Woah, a Nugget!"

"A Nugget!"

"Got a Nugget!"

"Uhm... I got a TM."

Josh, Casey, and Trey blinked at Dakarimon. "A TM." repeated Casey as if to confirm it.

Dakarimon nodded, "Yup. A TM. Uhh... TM 13."

Josh blinked, "TM 13?"

Trey scratched his head, "I'm not as astute as others may be, but I think it's some kind of water or ice attack."

Casey nodded, "Nice."

Trey and Dakarimon nodded. "So, shall we go before the others get in here and we have our hands full with some greedy Rocket-flops?"

As they left the room, Josh spoke up, "You know, I just don't understand what brought Aquaris here in the first place."

Trey and Casey shrugged. Dakarimon spoke up, "I think it has something to do with approaching their time." He frowned, "Perhaps there was one last thing that needed to be done."

"Like what?" asked Casey.

"Dunno."

They happened upon the bickering five to find them still at one another's throats. Trey and Dakarimon sighed in exasperation. Josh and Casey groaned.

"So how do we get these guys split up?" asked Trey.

"Allow me..." growled Dakarimon. He walked over to the group and stood to the side before inhaling deeply. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

To say that the five found themselves scrambling from sitting on the floor like bowled tenpins was an understatement.

Josh and the others laughed as Kyle, Ryo, and Jessie, James and Meowth pulled themselves from the floor. "Dat wasn't funny, punk!" screamed Meowth.

Dakarimon helped Kyle to his feet and pushed him over to Josh and Casey and then stepped over to Ryo and nudged him over to the other Destined.

Trey walked over to James and Jessie and glared at them. "I can't take you anywhere can I?"

Kyle and Ryo looked at Josh and Casey. Kyle whispered, "Is Trey working with them now?"

"Nope, he's just their meal ticket," whispered back Josh.

"But we were being accused by them!" wailed James.

"I don't care! Get back to your boat, now!" Trey barked and then glanced at Dakarimon, "Can you walk back with them please?"

Dakarimon smirked and saluted, "Sir, yes sir!" He turned back to Team Rocket and barked a march order and away they went.

Trey grinned and turned back to the Destined. "Listen guys, stay safe and take care. We'll see you around." He turned and jogged off.

Ryo and the others quietly made their way up to the deck and then down to their boat. On the boat, Ryo motored it back to where the ferry was.

On the way back, Kyle shoved his hands in his pockets and stopped, "Wait a minute... What's this?" Kyle pulled out a TM capsule and stared at it.

Josh caught sight of that, "Hey, Dakarimon found one of them!"

Kyle blinked in surprise, "He gave me this? Why?"

Casey shrugged, "Dunno, but I'd use that if I were you."

Kyle nodded, "I just might do that."

They made their way back to the ferry just in time to find the engines being fixed. The Destined, after thanking the captain and Travis, sat down for a nice quiet trip to Slateport.

Narrator So the plot thickens! Next time on Digicross Advanced Series, the Destined get to Slateport and meet someone quite interesting... especially to one specific Destined! Stay tuned!


	22. Ep 21: Dori the Explorer

Digicross Advanced Episode 21: "Dori the Explorer"

Episode written by Kyle Evanick and Josh Johannesen

Josh, Kyle, Ryo and Casey wave to the boat's captain and its attendants at they depart ship.

Casey yelled to them, "Thanks a lot for your help in getting Aquaris back!"

The captain and attendant on deck nodded and waved back as they went onto dry land for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Narrator: Today, Josh, Kyle, Ryo, and Casey find themselves on Slateport Beach, a location to the south of Slateport City, home of the first Pokemon Contest and Kyle's first challenge of the circuit.

As the four of them move onto the beach a little further, they notice a young girl with a pink kitten-like Pokemon.

"Now Skitty! Use Thunderbolt on those rocks near the beach." An electrical blast from the kitten blew each rock to bits as the group watched.

"That was cool." Josh commented.

Ryo wondered. "What kind of Pokemon is that?"

Kyle turned to Ryo. "I think that's a Skitty." He pulled out his Pokedex from his pocket. "Skitty, the Kitten Pokemon. Skitty has the habit of being fascinated by moving objects and chasing them around. This Pokemon is known to chase after it's own tail and become dizzy."

The Skitty's owner turned around, facing the group. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, wore a red cap(Like Ash's from Pokemon Advanced), had a blue t-shirt, red jacket, red shorts and red sneakers. Over to her side was a small dino that seemed to be made out of Legos.

"Hey isn't that..." Josh started.

"Dori and Toy Agumon!" Kyle greeted. "What are you doing here?"

She walked over to them and then fell over in shock at seeing Casey and Josh handcuffed. "How in the.." Toy Agumon began to laugh uncontrollably.

Kyle and Ryo shook their heads. "It's a long story..."

After sitting down for a bit, Dori explained that she was training for the Slateport Conference and Ryo explained how Caryl stole the keys to Casey's handcuffs. "I see. What Pokemon have you guys caught so far?"

"Ryo has Charmeleon, Swinub, and Sableye. Casey has Meganium, and Aquaris her Mudkip. I have Noble my Pikachu, Toaster my Torchic, and Taillow. Josh has Blade a Treecko, Poochyena, and a Mawile. What about you?"

"Sounds like you guys have quite a bit of Pokemon. I've caught Skitty my first Pokemon, Pan a Lotad that knows Razor Leaf, and Slicer a Nincada. I've also won two Badges: the Stone and Dynamo Badge."

All four trainers' eyes were on Dori. It was Ryo who said it. "You already won your Dynamo Badge but not the Knuckle Badge?"

Dori shrugged. "I was worried about missing the Contest so I skipped the Gym for now. After the Contest, Toy Agumon and I are heading to Dewford Island."

Ryo said, "That's cool, Dori. We're heading to Mauville City after the Conference ourselves."

Dori asked in a curious voice, "You're entering the Contest too?"

Kyle answered, "Well, only one of us is entering, and that's me."

Dori perked up almost immediately. "Really? That is so cool! We'll be able to compete against each other and see who's gotten stronger!"

Kyle is a little surprised at Dori's sudden enthusiasm, but at the same time, can't fault it either.

Dori stands up and leads Toy Agumon back toward where they were before. "Come on, Kyle! We can train together for a little bit!"

Kyle stood up and they went over to some more rocks, which were apparently very popular amongst Pokemon Coordinators, as Contest trainers were often called.

Kyle pulled out a Poke Ball. "I choose you, Taillow!"

The small bird Pokemon appeared before Kyle and as Dori and Toy Agumon watched, Kyle ordered Taillow, "Use Steel Wing to bust up those rocks!"

Taillow charged up Steel Wing and dove at the rocks, busting them up easily. The shower of rocks caused by the attack caused a small round of applause from Dori and Toy Agumon.

Meanwhile, at the south end of the beach, a certain Lapras towing the infamous giant Magikarp sub of Team Rocket finally made landfall at Slateport Beach. Trey and Dakarimon stared at Team Rocket as they began to complain.

"I'm hungry…" James complained.

"I'm so hungry; I would eat one of my coins if I could…" Meowth cried.

Trey and Dakarimon rolled their eyes and shook their heads. "How hungry could you three possibly be? We had lunch a few hours ago."

Jessie yelled, "All we had was some very tough Magikarp, thank you very much!"

Dakarimon and Trey sighed and got up as Lapras stopped. "I'll tell you what. We'll go to get some real food, and we'll have a picnic right here on the beach."

All of the "Rocket-flop's" eyes lit up at the suggestion. "That sounds great!" They all said in tandem.

Trey sweatdropped as he got up off of Lapras with Dakarimon close behind. Trey turned around and asked the three Rockets, "Can we trust you not to go anywhere or do anything for 5 minutes?"

Jessie, James and Meowth looked offended by Trey's question. "Of course we can stick around for 5 minutes!" Jessie yelled.

James retorted, "Do you think we can't just sit and wait around for 5 minutes!"

Meowth complained, "Do youse tink we have no self-control?"

To further emphasize the point, Wobbuffet came out of his Poke Ball. "Wooobuuuhhh!"

Trey and Dakarimon looked at each other, and then nodded to each other. Trey turned to the Rockets and said, "All right, you three. We'll see if you can stick around for 5 minutes alone without getting into trouble. We're leaving Lapras in your care."

Dakarimon continued where Trey left off, "And if we come back and find you're gone… there's going to be heck to pay, especially if you happen to go after your test subjects for their Pokemon… again."

The three of them gulped loudly, but shouted, "Aye aye, sir!"

With that, Trey and Dakarimon left the scene and went to the nearby Beach House to pick up some food. Neither one of them saw "the twerps" as they went, and so the two of them thought there was no chance that Team Rocket would abandon Lapras.

They were wrong.

While Team Rocket was completely capable of sitting around and doing nothing for 5 minutes, once 6 minutes passed, the three of them got up and began to wander around.

Lapras voiced her disapproval to Team Rocket, but they weren't having any of it.

"We'll just be gone for a minute!" James said.

"We need to stretch our legs after sitting on our sub for a whole week!" Meowth yelled.

Lapras rolled her eyes and left them alone.

Team Rocket wandered the beach, looking for something, anything to do at all.

Meanwhile on the north end of the beach, Kyle and Dori continued to train with Taillow and Skitty. Dori impressed everyone with Skitty's combination of moves, most notably a combination of Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. Taillow impressed everyone with Kyle's ingenious combination of Steel Wing and Quick Attack to make a shower of Steel particles.

As Josh and Casey clapped as best as they could for their comrade, Ryo came up to Josh and whispered in his ear, "Can I speak with you in private for a minute?"

Josh whispered back, "Hello… I've still got some dead weight here…"

Ryo told him, "Just bring her along. She can still watch Kyle and Dori, you know."

Josh shrugged and walked with Ryo, dragging Casey along.

Casey almost screamed at Josh for dragging her away from Dori and Kyle.

In short, Josh told her to stick it where the sun don't shine because she would still be able to watch the two of them train, but Ryo needed to talk with Josh about… something. He wasn't quite sure what.

When they were a sufficient distance away, Ryo asked Josh, "It sounds like you know Dori from somewhere. Where do you know her from?"

Josh answered with all honesty, "I met her back when I lived in Los Angeles. I think it was when all those Digimon were running amok…"

Ryo did a little bit of math in his head and figured out something very interesting. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Josh, but wasn't that before… that occurred?"

Casey looked over at Ryo when he mentioned something that vaguely.

Josh sighed and admitted that indeed it was indeed before the event to which Ryo was referring.

Ryo made an observation one could only make after living with Josh for as long as he had. "Josh, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't remember a lot of people distinctly before that, right?"

Josh nodded, knowing that surely if Casey had heard a word of their conversation, she was listening in on it now. As such, he didn't want to say a word if he didn't have to.

Ryo added, "And yet you remember her… Why does she stick out in your mind, Josh?"

Josh sighed very loudly as Ryo looked toward him for the answer. Casey could tell almost immediately that this was an uncomfortable subject for him, making this even sweeter.

Josh answered Ryo's question. "Well, to be perfectly honest, back when I met her in Los Angeles, she reminded me a lot of… me; someone who doesn't like being around people, is generally shy, and doesn't talk that much."

Casey facefaulted at the simple answer, "THAT'S IT! I was expecting some deep, dark secret to come out of you, Joshy!"

Josh looked sharply at Casey. "Don't call me Joshy, first of all. And second of all, if it were a deep, dark secret, I most certainly wouldn't tell you!"

Casey yelled back, "Why not!"

Josh shoved Casey into his face and asked her point blank, "Do I really need to tell you why, Casey?"

Casey looked into Josh's eyes and saw his cold stare looking back at her. She quickly shook her head and Josh shoved her to the ground.

Casey quickly slapped Josh when she got up in retaliation. Josh would have argued with Casey further, but right now, it was Ryo he was answering to and he turned back to his questioner.

Ryo asked Josh, "Getting back to the point… Why did Dori's personality stand out to you, and why did you shove Casey into the sand?"

Josh answered the first quickly. "Back then, everyone I knew was 'social butterflies' who wanted to make all sorts of new friends and chat up everyone. I thought that people like myself and like Dori were a rarity, in that we were very… small in number. The only difference between myself and Dori was the fact that she was able to put out an attempt to get along with everyone."

Ryo looked at Josh and nodded in acknowledgement.

Josh then addressed Ryo's second question. "Since Caryl is coming pretty soon, this will be one of the last times that I'll be able to do this to her without going out of my way."

Casey would have scowled at that comment, but chose instead to comment on the previous statement made by Josh. "Well, Josh, I wouldn't get too used to pushing around girls. After all, maybe you and Dori are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend some day…"

Josh chuckled a little at the notion that he would ever get a girlfriend, but he then went back and thought about his comments from a few moments before. Still, he thought to himself, it'll take a move by Dori first to get me to think that we're "an item".

It was at this moment that Kyle and Dori noticed the absence of Josh, Casey and Ryo. Kyle yelled out, "Hey, you guys, come on over! We won't bite!"

Ryo and Josh nodded to each other and the three of them walked back over to where Kyle and Dori were training. Meanwhile, behind a conveniently placed beach umbrella, the Rocket-flops popped up and looked at "the twerps".

"There they are…" Jessie scowled.

"We can't get into a fight with them now, Jess! We'll get in major trouble with Trey and that partner of his Dakarimon!" James observed loudly.

Meowth yelled loudly, "Who cares about him? If we get dey're Pokemon, we can dump dat kid and get back on top again!"

Unfortunately, with as loudly as Meowth yelled his last comment, it was very easy for the Digidestined trainers to hear him from behind the beach umbrella.

Everyone, including Kyle and Dori turned around and saw Team Rocket sticking their heads up from behind an umbrella.

Dori asked the question on her mind, "Who are you?"

Toy Agumon continued the sentiment, "And what do you want with our Pokemon!"

"Prepare for trouble on the beach!"

"And make it double, our goal's within reach!"

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

They jumped out from behind the beach umbrella as they finished the Team Rocket motto. "Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket's getting a tanning delight!"

"Surrender now, because it's really, really bright!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

Pop! "Wobbuhh! Wobbuhh!"

Ryo, Kyle, Casey and Josh went into fighting stance while Casey asked the obvious question, "Did you dump off your meal ticket?"

Jessie looked at them with a small amount of disdain. "It just so happens that our meal ticket is off getting us meals as we speak."

Meowth said in a quiet voice, "We're doing a little extracurricular activity, so to speak."

Dori quickly yelled out, "Hey, maybe one of you will want to battle me 1-on-1!"

As soon as Dori made the suggestion, the Rocket-flops huddled together to discuss the good and the bad of doing battle against Dori.

"We can't gain anything, even if we win." James observed.

"But, the upside to that is even if Trey and Dakarimon come back and see us here and not with Lapras, we won't get in quite so much trouble…" Jessie added.

Meowth put the exclamation point on it by adding, "Besides, we might be able to get better if we battle her!"

With that, they decided it was well worth their time to battle against her and broke huddle. Jessie took the point and smirked. "I'll be more than happy to battle you, young lady."

Almost immediately, Ryo and the others got a little… suspicious of Team Rocket. "Why would you battle fairly? That's the last thing you've been well known for…"

James observed, "If we battle like we have in the past and Trey comes back for us and finds us engaging in illegal business…"

Meowth finished, "We'll get da business end of dat Dakarimon's sword thing!"

Everyone sweatdropped but believed Team Rocket's motives were at least not greed-driven… this time.

Dori stepped up as did Jessie. Kyle stepped into the middle and announced the rules of the battle. "This battle shall be 2-on-2 with no time limit!"

"Go, Skitty!" Dori announced as the same Skitty who was training a few moments earlier came forward onto the field.

"Go, Seviper!" Jessie yelled at the black snake Pokemon was sent out of its Poke Ball.

Seviper and Skitty faced one another on the battlefield. Skitty got off the first attack and it shocked Jessie, to say the least. "Skitty, Thunderbolt Seviper!" The attack hit Seviper and paralyzed it almost immediately. (Yes, the pun was entirely intended.)

Jessie yelled at Seviper to snap out of it and to use Bite against Skitty. It didn't work too well because Skitty was already using another powerful attack called Assist.

This attack allowed Skitty to use any other attack that her Pokemon were capable of. So, naturally, seeing Skitty use Water Gun against Seviper was a little surprising. What was even more surprising was seeing a Water Gun strong enough to send Seviper flying off the field.

As soon as Seviper landed, its eyes were swirling from exhaustion. "Seviper is unable to battle. Skitty is the winner!" Kyle announced as Jessie recalled Seviper out of frustration.

She then made a desperation move, sending out the "loser", Wobbuffet onto the field.

Dori almost immediately made the call for an attack, "Skitty, Ice Beam!"

The icy beam was aimed dead-on with Wobbuffet. But Jessie had a trick up her sleeve. "Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat, now!"

The Ice Beam was reflected by the Mirror Coat and struck a befuddled Skitty with double intensity.

Dori almost immediately yelled, "Hey, that's not fair!"

Jessie wiggled her finger in a sort of taunting gesture. "Of course it's fair. It's an attack known as Mirror Coat, one of Wobbuffet's specialities."

Dori growled as she ordered Skitty to use Assist. Jessie got ready for any sort of attack.

This time, Skitty ended up surprising absolutely everyone, including Toy Agumon, as the attack Assist conjured up was none other than Toy Agumon's Toy Flame attack. Jessie was unsure what to do with the attack, so it hit Wobbuffet and did some damage.

Thinking Skitty was on the rebound, Dori ordered, "Skitty, use Thunderbolt now!"

Jessie smiled wide, knowing that Wobbuffet could counter effectively this time. "Mirror coat!" were the only words she said.

As the Ice Beam before it, Thunderbolt was turned away by Mirror Coat and hit Skitty, causing her to faint. "Skitty is unable to battle. Wobbuffet is the winner."

Jessie celebrated as Dori recalled Skitty into her Poke Ball. "You need some rest now, Skitty. Our competition comes up tomorrow."

Dori turned to Jessie and pulled out her second Poke Ball. "Go, Nincada!" A few moments later, a small silver and brown bug Pokemon came out. "Nincada."

Josh pulled out his Pokedex. "Nincada, the Trainee Pokemon. This Pokemon spends much of its time underground, only coming above the surface to gather its food."

Dori smiled wide as she asked for her first attack. "Nincada, Leech Life!"

As Nincada rushed Wobbuffet, Jessie smiled even wider. "Wobbuffet, Counter!"

Wobbuffet was able to successfully turn back Nincada's attack, causing the small bug to go flying quite a distance away. He got up a few moments later. Dori became more and more aggressive with each failed attack. "Nincada, Fury Swipes!"

Jessie thought to herself, 'This is too easy…' as Wobbuffet countered another Nincada attack.

Nincada was looking visibly weakened when he got knocked down this time. Dori looked slightly concerned, but knew there was one way to beat Wobbuffet… at least with a Pokemon with only physical attacks at its disposal.

"Nincada, Sand Attack!" Dori cried out.

Jessie ordered another Counter attack, but this attack was not one which could be countered. The sand landed in Wobbuffet's eyes and made it panic a little bit because his vision had been "compromised".

While Wobbuffet panicked, Dori ordered, "Nincada, rush in quickly and scratch Wobbuffet!"

Jessie immediately ordered a Counter from Wobbuffet, but the problem was that he couldn't find Nincada in time and Nincada jumped on top of Wobbuffet's head and began scratching incessantly.

Wobbuffet ran around a lot, trying to shake off the Nincada. However, he hung on and continued to scratch continuously until Wobbuffet finally fell over and Nincada was thrown off in the impact.

Jessie yelled, "Get up right now, you loser! You were winning…"

Wobbuffet tried to get up, but fainted before he did. "Wobbuffet is unable to battle. Skitty wins!"

Jessie recalls Wobbuffet and looks extremely angry, but Dori offers her hand in friendship after the match, softening Jessie's heart a little bit. She does not shake Dori's hand, but Jessie says, "You did good, kid."

Dori observed, "That Wobbuffet of yours is really good. Do you want to trade it?"

Jessie almost immediately lit up at the suggestion, being faced with the concept of finally getting rid of the loser.

She was about to speak up when they both heard a scream from nearby from a familiar voice. "GET OVER HERE NOW!"

The Rocket-flops ran away quickly, knowing that their "meal ticket" had returned to find the three of them gone.

Kyle, Dori and the others stared on as they saw how quickly the three of them left after hearing the voice of Dakarimon.

When the Rockets arrived back at the south end of the beach, Dakarimon and Trey sat on Lapras with their arms crossed and their foot tapping as if they were acting impatient.

Dakarimon asked calmly, "Where did you three go after we left?"

Jessie stuttered out, "We… we… were battling the… twerps."

Trey looked at Dakarimon and they both rolled their eyes quickly. "Dakarimon, will you teach them what happens when you abandon one of my Pokemon?"

Dakarimon smirked and said, "Gladly." The Rocket-flops gulped before Dakarimon proceeded to give the three of them a beating they wouldn't soon forget…

Up the beach, Dori asked a very simple question. "Do you mind if I join you for a couple of days, Kyle? At least until the conference is over?"

Kyle looked around at the faces of his friends who were all nodding an emphatic yes. "Well, I think my friends agree that we would be happy to have you for a few days, Dori."

Toy Agumon almost immediately perked up. "Does this mean we get to be with these boys for a few days, Dori?" she asked in an excited voice.

Dori sweatdropped and answered, "Yeah…"

Toy Agumon jumped onto Ryo and rode him piggy-back style. "Come on, let's go!"

Everyone sweatdropped as Ryo tried to get Toy Agumon off his back in vain. After a few minutes, he sighed and they all walked into Slateport City, Ryo trying to avert his face the entire way to the Pokemon Center.

Narrator: And so, for most of the Digidestined, it was a reunion with young Dori Langton, but Ryo met her for the first time, as did Team Rocket. Does Josh's memory of Dori have a deeper meaning? Who will succeed at Slateport Conference? And will Caryl finally free Josh and Casey from their imposed togetherness? Find out the answer to at least one of these questions next time!

Next time: The Slateport Conference looms large for Kyle Evanick, Dori Langton and Caryl Kyashi, who finally returns from New Zealand. Did she remember the key, and will she survive the combined wrath of Josh and Casey? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	23. Ep 22: Return of the Caryl

Digicross Advanced Episode 22: "Return of the Caryl"

Episode Written By Josh Johannesen

Author's Note: Yes, the title is a blatent Star Wars reference, copyright of LucasArts.

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes at the Slateport Outdoor Market, as Kyle and Dori make final preparations to participate in Slateport Conference.

The many outdoor stalls contain many sorts of items, from Berries to TM's to dolls. The five Digidestined looked around, trying to find them selves something which might give them an edge in their "chosen field".

Casey asked, "How is this stuff supposed to help Skitty and Taillow rise to the top of Slateport Conference?"

Kyle observed, "Well, maybe some grooming supplies…"

Dori added, "Berries can be ground into PokeBlocks…"

Kyle continued, "TM's can be used to give our Pokemon a new move…"

Toy Agumon was actually riding Kyle, but he was too busy gawking at items of interest to notice at all.

As they passed a berry stall, they all began to hear in mid-air a flapping of wings and looked up to see a large grey bird landing in the middle of Slateport City.

Josh asked, "Do you think…?"

Casey responded, "I hope so…"

As the large grey bird came down into the city, Ryo could make out the rider on top of it and smiled wide. "It's Caryl! She's back!"

As soon as those words left Ryo's mouth, he ran toward the town center as did Josh and Casey somewhat in step. Kyle and Dori looked at each other, shrugged, and then quickly followed suit.

When Caryl made a landing in Slateport City, the last thing she expected was a welcoming committee. Unfortunately for her, she got just that from Casey, Josh, Kyle, Dori and Ryo.

When she got off Aerodactyl, Ryo came up and they shared a hug after being separated for about 5 weeks. "It's been awhile since I've seen you, Caryl." Ryo said.

"Way too long, Ryo. Way too long." Caryl said in response.

Caryl looked around at the familiar faces of her friends all around her. "Did they all come to say hello, Ryo?"

After giving a quick glance to Josh and Casey, he answered, "Of course, my dear."

"Wow… this is kapai, Ryo!" Caryl exclaimed as she recalled Aerodactyl.

As was the norm when Caryl used slang from her home of New Zealand, everyone turned their heads in confusion.

Purposely ignoring Josh and Casey for a moment, Caryl walked over and addressed Kyle. "How have you been, Kyle?"

"Uhhh… great." He replied with some amount of hesistation.

When Caryl noticed the young lady standing next to Kyle, she had to ask the obvious question. "Ooooo… Is she your girlfriend, Kyle?"

Kyle immediately blushed and shook his head furiously, causing both Caryl and Dori to laugh.

"My name is Dori Langton."

"Mine is Caryl Kyashi. I'm Ryo's girlfriend."

From Kyle's back, Toy Agumon said, "Awww…" and jumped off his back. "I didn't think Ryo was taken…"

Caryl smiled and said, "Sorry, he's mine."

Toy Agumon apologized to Caryl, but she quickly waved it off. "No problem. If I didn't know he was taken, I would want him to be my boyfriend, too." They both shared a laugh at that comment.

Caryl then walked over to Josh and Casey. "Well, how have you two been?"

Josh and Casey knew that Caryl wasn't going to free them unless they feigned being nice to one another. "Fine…"

Caryl asked, "Do you two want me to let you out?"

Casey answered the question sarcastically. "No, I love being shackled to this dummy."

Josh would have normally started another argument, but he took the insult like a man and waited.

Caryl slowly pulled out the keys and slowly approached the "cuffed twins". To the two of them, it seemed like an eternity. Finally, she got to them and unlocked their cuffs. She took the cuffs as Josh and Casey got away from one another quickly.

Caryl sighed as it was now plain as day that the two of them didn't like each other anymore than they did before.

"I guess you two don't agree on anything, huh?" Caryl asked with a frown on her face.

Josh and Casey looked at one another and gave each other an evil smile. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure, Caryl." Josh answered.

"We do agree on one thing…" Casey continued as they both approached Caryl.

Caryl smiled. "Is that so?" she asked innocently.

It was only when Caryl saw the evil smiles on Josh and Casey's faces that she began to get a little frightened. She slowly backed away while Josh and Casey got ever closer.

Suddenly, Josh and Casey jumped on Caryl and a struggle ensued. Dust was being kicked up from the ground rather easily and swiftly, making it look like one of those fights from a cartoon show.

In fact, this was exactly what Ryo was thinking when he decided to try and intervene, angrier than pretty much any other time. "Get off my girlfriend, you two!"

In a strange turn of events, it was Kyle and Dori who had to hold Ryo back from hurting Josh and Casey. "Let me go!" Ryo demanded.

Kyle and Dori continued to hold Ryo for a few more moments while he struggled to break free from their grip. It was at this moment that the three of them could make out laughter coming from the dust cloud.

Ryo quit struggling to break free as the dust settled and it became visible to the naked eye exactly what Josh and Casey were doing…

Caryl's shoes were off and while Josh held her down, Casey tickled her feet. Caryl was laughing her head off as she yelled over and over again for them to stop.

Kyle, Dori, Toy Agumon and Ryo all sweatdropped at the sight.

"What will you never do to us again, Caryl?" Casey asked playfully.

As Caryl laughed, she managed, "Never lock the two of you together again…"

Josh asked, "Promise?"

Caryl screamed, "Yes!" as she continued laughing.

Finally, Josh and Casey let her go and Caryl quickly grabbed her shoes and put them back on, breathing heavily from all the tickling.

Ryo looked at the three of them a little strangely as Kyle and Dori continued to hold Ryo in place. "Why did you two tickle my girlfriend like that?" Ryo asked.

Casey and Josh looked at each other before Josh answered. "We wanted to teach Caryl a lesson about doing this sort of stuff without… you know, hurting her."

Casey nodded and continued, "We wouldn't want to hurt her, especially because then we'd have to deal with you, Ryo."

Ryo took a deep breath and admitted that he got angrier than he had been in quite some time after seeing the two of them jump his girlfriend.

Needless to say, neither Josh nor Casey could truly know what Ryo was going through in his mind, though Casey had a slightly better idea than Josh did.

Caryl finally recovered from her "bout" with Josh and Casey, but she couldn't help but laugh a little more. "At least I finally managed to get you two to agree on something?"

As soon as Caryl realized she had done it again, she screamed, "I'm still turning into a Kiwi!"

Dori and Toy Agumon were completely confused by the comment. "Kyle, what is she talking about?"

Kyle shook his head and told her, "You don't want to know, believe me…"

At that moment, someone wandered by heading in the direction of the building in which Slateport Conference was taking place. "Got to hurry, the conference starts in thirty minutes…"

When Kyle, Dori and Caryl heard that, they looked at each other and then all said simultaneously, "I guess we've got to hurry too."

Kyle and Dori let go of Ryo and together with Caryl, they ran off toward the Conference. Ryo, Josh and Casey were left surprised nearby. "Ummm…" was the only word Josh could manage in his shock.

Casey suggested, "I think we should go after them. After all, we want to root for them at the Conference, right?"

Both Ryo and Josh nodded quickly and the three of them ran toward the Conference building.

Nearby, a certain team looked on as the Hoenn Digidestined ran toward Slateport Conference.

"What's so great about that conference, anyway?" Jessie asked.

"Yeah, it seems that all the trainers in there are more concerned with their Pokemon than with themselves." James observed.

"Maybe 'dey win prizes by winning 'dose conferences!" Meowth exclaimed.

The thought of winning anything excited Jessie and James quite a bit. Trey and Dakarimon both laughed at them from nearby. Needless to say, this annoyed the Rocket-flops quite a bit.

"What's so funny, Trey!" Jessie yelled.

When Trey calmed down, he answered in honesty, "You don't win any prizes for winning a Conference."

The three of them were brought back down into their destitution once again. "Then what's the point?"

Dakarimon recalled something from his time. "I think a lot of multiple Conference winners eventually go on to become famous in fields like Pokemon Beauty."

James and Meowth could have cared less, but Jessie was suddenly attracted to the idea like a moth to a bright light. "You mean, I could be known for my tastes in Pokemon if I win?" Jessie asked with her eyes sparkling.

Both James and Meowth sweatdrop, but at the same time, they know better than to try and deny Jessie's whims… if you get in the way, you just end up getting hurt.

Trey and Dakarimon also sweatdrop at Jessie's sudden excitement. "Uhhh… I guess." Dakarimon said with some hesitation.

Jessie grabbed James and Meowth and exclaimed, "We're going to Slateport Conference!"

Both James and Meowth asked in unison, "We are?"

Jessie nodded quickly. "Of course. Nothing is going to stand in my way of being famous like I should be!"

Meowth asked a simple question, "What about 'dose two?" indicating Trey and Dakarimon.

Trey was quick to shake his head. "Dakarimon and I have some… business to attend to. We'll have to take a pass on the Conference this time."

Jessie could have cared less, but James and Meowth thought to themselves, "Great… we've got to deal with her alone?"

"Come on you two, we've got work to do and fame to claim!" Jessie exclaimed as she ran off with James and Meowth still in hand.

Dakarimon chose that moment to look at Trey and ask the most obvious question. "What business do we have to attend to, Trey?"

Trey became serious and said, "I have a special call to make to a friend…"

Dakarimon's face perked up a little bit, as he suddenly understood exactly what Trey meant. Together, they both walked to the Pokemon Center.

Back at the conference building, Kyle, Dori and Caryl had been admitted into the Conference as competitors and Josh, Ryo and Casey got in as spectators, being able to sit in the stands and cheer for their friends equally.

When the three of them sat down in the stands, they sat down as comfortably as they could; Ryo in the middle, and Josh and Casey sitting on the outsides. Josh and Casey wouldn't have minded being farther apart from one another, but Ryo made them sit at least somewhat close to each other to make sure they didn't get separated among the large crowd attending the event.

Jessie led James and Meowth into the event, Jessie taking an alias and using a costume to avoid being spotted by anyone who might recognize her. For the time being, she would be known as Joan.

James and Meowth went into the stands, ready to cheer for "Joan" when she was up to bat.

Narrator: It's getting exciting around here, as Kyle, Dori and Caryl get ready to go head-to-head for the first time at Slateport Conference? Will one of them emerge victorious? Find out as Slateport Conference begins!

Slateport Pokemon Center-

Trey and Dakarimon entered the Pokemon Center, looking around for something, though it wasn't clear what. Before too long, Nurse Joy notices them from behind her desk.

"Can I help you out?" Joy asked.

Trey nodded. "Can I use your phone?"

Joy answered, "Certainly. Come with me."

Joy led Trey and Dakarimon to the video phone of this particular Pokemon Center. It was kept in the back because Nurse Joy wanted to avoid having problems with excessive numbers of trainers trying to call home after arriving for the first time in Hoenn. Since this was one of the three major ports of Hoenn, this was not the least bit surprising.

"Go ahead and use the phone to call whoever you want. Just come on back out after you're done." Joy told Trey.

Trey thanked her for the help and proceeded to make a special call.

After a few rings, the person on the other end picked up. "This is Professor Birch."

"Professor, it's Trey."

"Oh, Trey. What's going on?"

"Professor, we need to talk about something important, are you ready?"

"Go ahead, Trey."

Next Time: Slateport Conference begins as Dori, Kyle, Caryl and Jessie battle for dominance as well as pride and fame. Who will rise to the top? Will any of them win their first ribbon on their first time out? And just what is Trey talking about with Professor Birch? Find out the answers to at least a few of these questions next time on Digicross Advanced!


	24. Ep 23: Battle for Slateport, Pt 1

Digicross Advanced Episode 23: "The Battle for Slateport, Part 1"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

The announcer came over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. Welcome to Slateport Conference!"

Narrator: Today, we find our heroes inside of the Slateport Conference building, as Kyle, Dori and Caryl prepare to face one another on the Conference floor.

"This promises to be an exciting conference as the finest Pokemon Coordinators from around Hoenn have come to compete for…"

The announcer holds up a fancy ribbon. "This ribbon!"

The crowd went wild… except for Josh, Casey and Ryo, who didn't quite see the appeal of the ribbon. What they didn't realize was that it wasn't just the ribbon… it was the fame and recognition which came with the ribbon that everyone was fighting for.

"And now, it's time for you to meet the competitors at this Slateport Conference!" the announcer said.

The crowd went wild again as the 16 competitors came out onto the floor. Josh, Ryo and Casey cheered loudest when Kyle, Dori and Caryl came out. James and Meowth cheered loudest when "Joan" came out.

The 16 competitors waved to the crowd excitedly. Not long from this moment, the announcer began speaking again. "For those of you unfamiliar with the format of these competitions, let me break it down for you.

"The first round of competition is the 'Show-off' round where each competitor will get a chance to dazzle us all with displays of skill. The top 8 competitors will advance to the second round… the Battle round! The winner of the Battle round will win the conference and the ribbon!"

The crowd cheered again as the competitors filed off stage and went into the waiting room.

Kyle told Dori, "Well, this is the first time we've been at one of these…"

Dori answered with a small amount of nervousness in her voice, "Yeah… we've never been in front of such a big crowd before…"

Caryl came up behind the two of them. "Hey, you're not getting nervous, are you?"

Both Kyle and Dori were quick to say, "Of course not! Why would we be getting nervous?"

Because both of them spoke at the same time, Kyle and Dori stared at one another for a moment while Caryl laughed in the background.

"Don't worry, you two. You'll do fine. Just trust in yourself and your Pokemon."

Kyle and Dori thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Thanks a lot, Caryl." Kyle said.

Caryl smiled. "You're quite welcome, Kyle."

Jessie looked around quite nervously. "Wow… I didn't think so many people would show up…"

About 30 minutes later-

The announcer came on stage and made an… announcement. "Next up is contestant number three… Kyle Evanick!"

The crowd cheered, with the loudest cheers coming from Josh, Ryo and Casey. Kyle waved back to the crowd.

"Kyle will now demonstrate the skills possessed by his Pokemon, Taillow!" As soon as the announcement was made, Kyle, pulled out his Poke Ball.

"Go, Taillow!" The small bird Pokemon soon appeared on the floor of the conference.

"Kyle, you have three minutes to impress the judges with your Pokemon's array of moves." The announcer looked into the audience. "Don't forget, you can somewhat influence the judge's decision by cheering loudly!"

Kyle yelled at Taillow as soon as the announcer, "Steel Wing!" Taillow's wings glowed brightly as Taillow rose toward the ceiling.

The crowd didn't say much. Kyle yelled out another command. "Now, Quick Attack!"

The combination of Steel Wing and Quick Attack had an unexpected effect. Steel particles came off of Taillow's wings and spread across the floor. What was impressive about this was the sparkly show created by the combination of the lights on the ceiling and the particles themselves.

The crowd gave a collective "Ooooh" and clapped at the effect.

Kyle's next move was remarkably similar to the last one. "Taillow, Steel Wing!" The crowd was expecting something different to come out of this Steel Wing, and it did.

After the attack charged up, Kyle then ordered Taillow to "Fly in formation!"

Taillow flew in "formation", using Quick Attack at opportune times to create a "message" for the audience. As a matter of fact, when the attack was done, the Steel particles in mid-air spelled out the word "Cool".

The audience, seeing that, went absolutely wild. Josh said, "Wow… I've never seen Kyle use that move before…"

Casey added, "Yeah, I didn't even think it was possible for something like that to happen."

Ryo just nodded and said, "Well, it's completely possible that Kyle's been training for this Conference a lot more than we know."

Josh and Casey both nodded, but as soon as the two of them saw they were agreeing with each other, they both turned their backs on one another, each not daring to show the other their genuine embarrassment.

Ryo shook his head as the crowd continued to cheer Kyle as the judges were making up their minds. In the end, they gave Kyle high marks on skill, but not quite so much on his grooming skills, as Taillow got a few feathers ruffled during the competition. Overall, his score was 8.7, a very impressive mark, especially considering that this was his first time out.

As Kyle recalled Taillow and left the stage, Dori, who was next to compete, pat Kyle on the back and congratulated him on a job well done. Even as Kyle went back to the waiting room, he could hear the cheers of the excited crowd.

The announcer said, "And now, Contestant number four is coming out on stage. Please put your hands together for Dori Langton!"

Having already been "whooped up" by Taillow's performance moments before, the crowd had no problem going wild for Dori. She almost blushed at the amount of attention she was receiving, because she knew that at least in part, she owed it to Kyle.

"Dori will be showing off her Pokemon Skitty today!" Dori pulled out her Poke Ball and said that familiar cry…

"I choose you, Skitty!"

The small pink kitten came forth onto the Conference floor. "You have 3 minutes in which to impress the judges! And… begin!"

Dori called out, "Skitty, use Assist!"

Dori had no idea what attack was about to be used by Skitty, but the fact of the matter remained that if Skitty used something unexpected, it would go over well with the crowd.

Fortunately for Dori, Skitty used Toy Agumon's Toy Flame attack again. At first, the crowd didn't say or do anything because they didn't know what quite to make of the attack.

After a few moments, though, the crowd went absolutely nuts. Dori took the opportunity to launch a new combination. "Skitty, use Thunderbolt like we planned!"

Skitty's Thunderbolt went up toward the ceiling, but unlike most Thunderbolt attacks, this one hung in the air, creating an impressive lightshow. But this wasn't all Dori had up her sleeve.

"Skitty, use Ice Beam now!" Skitty fired off an Ice Beam from her mouth. At the same time, Thunderbolt came down from the ceiling toward the floor in front of Skitty. The Ice Beam and Thunderbolt impacted one another and had a very strange effect… The Thunderbolt froze on stage right on the spot.

The audience gasped in shock and awe at the Thunderbolt ice sculpture on stage before cheering very loudly for Dori and Skitty. In fact, the crowd couldn't help themselves but chant Skitty's name over and over again. Dori blushed at the level of attention she was receiving on account of her Pokemon.

The judges deliberated before giving their scores. It wasn't long before Dori received her score. She received extremely high marks in skill, and very high marks in grooming, showing her love for her Pokemon. Overall, she received a 9.5, which was astounding. As Dori left the stage with Skitty in her arms, the crowd continued to chant for her.

Even the cheers coming from the Digidestined were drowned out by the crowd's very loud ovations and cheers. Backstage, Dori was congratulated by a large number of the other Coordinators, who were completely taken by surprise by the fact that she had come up with such a killer combo in her first ever Conference.

45 Minutes Later-

The crowd had calmed down considerably, following several sub-par performances from would-be Coordinators. The crowd was ready to get all whooped up again, and maybe Contestant number twelve would provide just the spark this crowd needed so desperately.

"Next up, Contestant #12, Caryl Kyashi!" the announcer said

Caryl didn't get nearly the ovation that Coordinators early in the competition received after their runs, and others before their runs, but the crowd was beginning to anticipate another special run. It had been far too long since one had occurred.

"Caryl will be performing with her Pokemon, Cyndaquil!"

Caryl brought out her Poke Ball. "Go for it, Cyndaquil!" The small flaming Pokemon came out onto stage. It looked especially nice, which made the crowd anticipate an outstanding run.

"As with all the contestants, you have 3 minutes! And… begin!"

Caryl began her round with a simple command. "Cyndaquil, Smokescreen!"

Within a few moments, the arena was covered in a thick black smoke as Cyndaquil had overdone the attack. The crowd coughed from the large amount of smoke present. Caryl covered her mouth as did the judges.

Caryl called out her next command, "Cyndaquil, Swift attack, now!" Despite the fact that the smoke was all over the arena, the Swift attack could be seen very clearly, almost like star-shaped beacons through a thick fog. The crowd cheered a little bit in between their continuous coughs.

After about 2 minutes of letting Swift light up the stadium, Caryl knew it was time to dispel the smoke. "Cyndaquil, Flame Wheel attack, now!"

In a remarkable event, Cyndaquil's Flame Wheel actually managed to draw in the Smokescreen from the rest of the arena, creating a flaming tornado in the middle of the arena. Remarkably, it didn't burn the place down, it just created a light show which finally got the crowd going.

The judges deliberated for quite a few minutes about Caryl's final score. The crowd, as per the usual, tried to influence the judges' decision through cheering, though some people were not thrilled with having to deal with all that smoke for quite some time.

Finally, the judges came to a decision. "Your Cyndaquil's performance had some good aspects, some bad aspects, but overall, it was impressive. Your grooming gets high marks… your skills get moderate marks… overall, we give you a 7.9."

The crowd applauded the score, thinking that she had gotten a fair deal, considering the fact that she put the crowd into a little bit of danger.

Caryl left stage confident she would pass into the Battle Round. Of course, she still had a few more competitors to go before her place in the second round would be secured…

25 Minutes Later-

The crowd applauded the fifteenth competitor as he left the stage. The announcer told the crowd, "This is it! The final competitor of the first round!"

The crowd got very excited because after this person was done, they would be left with only the most competent trainers to battle it out in round two.

"The sixteenth competitor here in round one is Joan!"

A badly disguised Jessie came onto the show floor. Even though Josh and Casey wanted to say something almost immediately, Ryo stopped both of them, noting that anyone was allowed to enter the competition so long as they gave a fair deal to the other competitors…

James and Meowth cheered the loudest of everyone as Jessie took her spot. "Today, Joan shall be using her Dustox!" the announcer told the crowd.

"Go, Dustox!" Jessie cried. Within a few moments, the purple moth was out on the field and people were beginning to have visions of Caryl's Cyndaquil filling the arena with smoke all over again.

"3 minutes is all you have to impress the judges and the audience, Joan. Begin!"

Joan begins her round by yelling out, "Dustox, Sleep Powder!" The blue powder began to spread a little bit, making a lot of people very nervous.

Joan then called out her next command. "Dustox, Stun Spore!" The yellow powder, like the Sleep Powder before it, spread slowly.

The crowd began to murmur, but Joan did have a secret weapon up her sleeve… "Dustox, Whirlwind!"

Dustox began to create a large tornado in the middle of the stage. Remarkably, the Sleep Powder and Stun Spore attacks were pulled into the Tornado, creating a colored tornado which got the crowd going, but not nearly as much as the performances which came before it.

The reason for this was because of the fact that they were waiting for the Sleep Powder and Stun Spore to come over them.

After the time ran out, Dustox quit using Whirlwind, and indeed the powder spread over the audience.

The judges held off falling asleep and getting paralyzed long enough to give Joan a score of 7.0.

Joan left stage and a recess was called until everyone could recover.

When the recess ended, the announcer came onto stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're now finished with the first round of competition!"

The crowd cheered, knowing that at least the overpowering attacks were over. "And now, we have the brackets heading into the Battle Round!"

A computerized bracket appeared on the big screen as the Announcer announced the bracket. "The first battle of the Battle Round will involve #1 seeds, Dori and Skitty and #8 seeds Richard and Vulpix. The second battle will be between #4 seeds Drew and Roselia and #5 seeds Caryl and Cyndaquil. The third bout will be between #3 seeds Kyle and Taillow and #6 seeds Lee and Bulbasaur. The fourth and final bout will involve #2 seedsHoshi and Machopand #7 seeds Joan and Dustox!"

The crowd cheered. "We'll take a short recess so our remaining competitors can regain their composure. After that, the Battle Round will begin!"

The crowd cheered very loudly.

Narrator: It looks like things are off to a bright start for our young heroes. But only one of the 8 remaining contestants can go all the way and win the ribbon! Who will it be? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!

Next Time: The Battle for Slateport continues, as the 8 remaining competitors compete for a ribbon. Who will be the lone trainer standing? Find out when Part 2 of the Battle for Slateport hits the air waves!


	25. Ep 24: Battle for Slateport, Pt 2

Last time on Digicross Advanced, The Slateport Conference began. Some performances like Dori's and Kyle's were highly impressive; while others were on the verge of falling short of the finals. Now eight competitors will duke it out for the right to call themselves Champions of Slateport Conference. Who will survive? Find out today on Digicross Advanced!

Digicross Advanced Episode 24: "The Battle for Slateport, Part 2"

General commentary is written by Josh Johannesen

Round 1 Battles are written by Josh Johannesen, Trey Miller

The announcer came out on stage as the crowd applauded once again. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the first bout of the quarterfinals of the Battle Round of Slateport Conference!"

The crowd cheered loudly as the announcer got ready to make the announcement of the first bout. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce a young man who barely made through the first round because of a mishap with his Pokemon. Someone who will be sure to entertain us all. Please welcome Richard!"

A young man with yellow hair, rarely seen anywhere, came out. He had brown eyes, a red shirt and blue shorts. He looked extremely young to be Pokemon training.

"And now, she thrilled us all with a frozen Thunderbolt in the first round, and now she's back to give us some more! Please welcome to the arena Dori!"

Dori walked into the arena where the crowd was cheering very loudly for her. She had given them something to look for in the Battle Round, and they appreciated the effort quite a bit. Dori played to the crowd as well, waving to them as she crested the short flight of stairs leading to the arena floor.

"For those of you unfamiliar with the rules, here they are. This will be a 1-on-1 battle between the Pokemon each of these competitors used to get this far. In other words, Dori will be using Skitty and Richard will be using Vulpix. They will have five minutes in total to knock each other out. If neither has fainted after five minutes, then the competitor who battled the best will be declared the winner and will advance."

Both nod to the announcer than stare each other down. The announcer raised both of his arms in the air and yelled, "Begin!"

Both trainers called out their Pokemon with a simple command of, "Go!"

The pink kitten Skitty and the red multi-tailed fox Vulpix soon appeared on the field as the five minute time-limit started.

"Skitty, use Thunderbolt!" Skitty charged up and used the powerful Thunderbolt to send an electrical bolt into the sky toward the ceiling of the arena.

Richard smiled, as he was ready for that tactic. "Vulpix, Faint Attack." The bolt came crashing down a matter of seconds later, but when it struck the ground, there was no Vulpix to be seen.

Dori yelled, "Skitty, watch out!"

Up in the stands, Ryo made an observation. "I didn't know Faint Attack could be used by a Vulpix…"

Josh observed, "Well, if the Pokemon couldn't use it, then how could…" He stares at tote board to see if Vulpix was male or female. "… She be using the move as we speak?"

Casey just looked at Josh before she looked back into the arena.

Richard confidently called out his next attack. "Vulpix, use Quick Attack, formation square!" Vulpix appeared again, but now used a fantastic burst of speed to dart across the outside of the arena, turning at the corners to essentially box Skitty in.

Skitty tried to follow Vulpix's movements, but she just ended up getting dizzy in a big hurry. Richard saw his opportunity to strike, and strike hard. "Vulpix, box her in with Flamethrower!"

When the command was heard, Vulpix began to launch Flamethrower attacks every single time she stopped in a corner. This combination singed Skitty before she or Dori could react.

"Skitty, try to stay on the move to keep Flamethrower from hitting you," Dori yelled.

Skitty began to run around the inside of the arena, and as a tactic, it worked for a little while, but then Vulpix landed one good Flamethrower at point blank and caused Skitty to faint with about a minute and a half remaining on the clock.

Dori stared on in shock. She had been the number one seed a few minutes before, and now she was the first one out. The crowd also sat in shock as the referee made the announcement. "Skitty is unable to battle. Richard and Vulpix are the winners!"

Richard and Vulpix began to celebrate on stage as Dori recalled Skitty looking dejected. Richard offered his hand for a handshake, and Dori took it, but it didn't help the pain of being the first out of this competition. She walked off-stage looking dejected. For some reason, Josh felt especially bad about this turn of events. He wasn't sure why, but he did.

Josh got up from his seat. "Josh, what are you doing?" Ryo asked.

Josh answered, "I think I'm going to go console Dori…"

Ryo looked at Josh skeptically, but had no reason not to believe him and allowed him to go downstairs to console Dori along with Kyle.

Casey asked Ryo, "Hey, why do you think Josh left like that?"

Ryo shook his head and responded, "I don't know. I haven't known Josh to care this much about someone he's really just met for the second time."

5 Minutes Later-

The announcer came onto stage after Richard and Vulpix had vacated the arena. "That was an exciting first bout, but now we're all ready to witness the second bout of the quarterfinals!"

The crowd cheered as if on cue, or as if there was an applause sign above the arena floor.

"First, we have someone who might have been arrested on creating a health risk in the first round, but ended up creating quite a stir. Please welcome back Caryl!"

The crowd clapped lightly as Caryl came up on stage and waved to the crowd. The majority of the crowd pulled out handkerchiefs in case Cyndaquil went overboard with the Smokescreen again.

The announcer came back on. "And now our number four seed. He gave us all a good show in the first round with his Roselia, and now he's back to see how far he can go! Welcome to the stage Drew!"

A young man with green hair came onto stage. He wore a black shirt with a purple vest and some long pants. He didn't even bother waving to the crowd, mostly blowing them off as he ascended the stage.

Drew stared across the stage at his competitor, Caryl, thinking that someone like her wasn't even worth his time.

The announcer announced the beginning of the round.

Caryl brought out her Poke Ball. "Go, Cyndaquil!" The small flaming Pokemon appeared on the field.

Drew casually tossed out his Poke Ball. From the ball came a small green Pokemon with a couple of different colored roses on the ends of her arms.

Caryl smiled. "A Grass-type? This is going to be cake! Cyndaquil, Swift attack!" Small star-shaped projectiles shot quickly toward Roselia, hitting the Grass-type for some damage, but not a whole lot.

Drew yawned in boredom. "If that's the best you've got, little girl, you're not going to stand a chance to beat me!"

Caryl had to fight hard to resist the urge to throw something heavy at Drew, because that would be grounds for certain disqualification.

Drew told Roselia, "Use your natural attraction to distract Cyndaquil!"

Roselia began to use what some might call an unusual tactic… she began to flirt with Cyndaquil and actually managed to get Cyndaquil's attention.

Caryl asked, "Cyndaquil? What's wrong?"

Cyndaquil began to drool on the floor as he stared at Roselia. It became clear to everyone that Cyndaquil's mind was no longer in the battle.

Caryl yelled, "Cyndaquil, snap out of it!"

Cyndaquil didn't listen, instead opting to move closer to Roselia, much to Drew's liking.

Cyndaquil did something a little embarrassing and brought out a bunch of flowers and presented them to Roselia as if they were a gift. Drew gave an evil smile and ordered Roselia to "return the favor".

So what did Roselia do? She began to launch Magical Leaf attacks rapidly at the Fire-type Pokemon.

One after another, Magical Leaf attacks impacted Cyndaquil and knocked him back. Just as Cyndaquil recovered from one attack, another was on its way in.

Despite the fact that none of the attacks individually did much damage, the sum of all the attacks did enough to knock out the Fire-type Pokemon.

The referee said, "Cyndaquil is unable to battle. The winners are Drew and Roselia!"

Drew didn't bother to celebrate. It was almost as if he knew from the get-go that he would be the eventual winner. After Caryl recalled Cyndaquil, she cried all the way back to the preparation room. She was not only upset at losing in the first round, but now she was letting out her frustration for losing to someone who had the gall to call her "little girl".

Drew left the stage as full of himself as he came on stage with.

Preparation Room-

Josh and Kyle talked with Dori while she softly cried. "It's ok, Dori. Just because someone is better than you today doesn't mean they'll always be better than you… you'll have your chance to defeat him in the future." Josh said.

Dori sobbed. "I know that. It's just… Skitty didn't have much of a chance, and I don't like to lose ever…"

Kyle added, "No matter how competitive you are, Dori, you've got to be able to recover from this loss… Otherwise, you might not be able to be able to have the heart to win anything ever again…"

Suddenly, Caryl burst in crying and when Kyle got up, Caryl grabbed onto Josh and cried on his shoulder since his was the handiest at the time.

Kyle said, "My match is up next, Josh, so I guess you're going to have to provide both shoulders for these girls."

Josh answered, "At least until Ryo shows up in a few minutes to comfort Caryl, that is."

Kyle nodded. "Good point, Josh. Well, wish me luck!"

Josh did just that and began to pat both girls on the back to try and calm them down. Caryl yelled out in her crying that someone called her "little girl". Of course, almost immediately Josh knew why Caryl was so upset. After all, she decked the last guy who called her that with a boulder…

Back on Stage-

The announcer came back on stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're now ready to begin the third bout of the quarterfinals!"

The crowd cheered once more, making them start to seem almost a little too excitable.

Casey is now seen sitting by herself as Kyle and Josh thought would happen. Ryo had gone down below to comfort his girlfriend.

"Now, let's meet for the second time the person who thrilled all with his Pokemon's Steel Wing combos in the opening round. Now he's back to begin his road to the ribbon! Please welcome Kyle!"

Kyle walked out onto stage to the roars of the crowd who still remembered his Taillow's exploits in the first round.

Kyle waved to the crowd as he took his spot on stage.

"And now, you remember his Pokemon from Round 1 who did almost the same thing as another qualifier in the Battle Round, but here he is anyway! Lee!"

A somewhat portly man comes out onto stage. He appears to be middle-aged and waves to a much quieter crowd. It wasn't clear to Kyle why the older man didn't get quite the ovation he did, but it was clear that they weren't thrilled.

As with the battles before it, the rules were explained clearly before the battle was announced to begin.

Kyle pulled out his Poke Ball as did Lee. "Go, Taillow!" Kyle yelled. "Go, Bulbasaur!" Lee called out.

A few seconds later, Taillow appeared in front of Kyle and a green Pokemon with a bulb on its back appears in front of Lee.

Lee became the aggressor almost immediately. "Bulbasaur, Sleep Powder!" Almost immediately, a blue powder misted into the air aimed directly at Taillow.

Kyle answered immediately. "Taillow, fly around quickly to create a whirlwind to blow away the Sleep Powder!"

Taillow responded quickly by using Quick Attack in a spiral in order to create a powerful Whirlwind-like attack. The results were not good for Lee and Bulbasaur. The blue powder was absorbed by the whirlwind and promptly sent back in Bulbasaur's direction.

Lee wasn't sure what to do as Bulbasaur was overwhelmed by its own attack. As a result, Bulbasaur fell asleep on the field.

"Bulbasaur, wake up!" Lee cried. But it was no use. Bulbasaur was out cold.

Where Lee was panicking, Kyle was enjoying every minute of it. "Taillow, use Quick Attack and knock Bulbasaur entirely out of this final!"

Taillow flew into mid-air and then shot down at the still sleeping Bulbasaur. Lee cried out in panic many times as he tried desperately to wake up his slumbering Pokemon. Sadly for him, it wasn't to be, as Taillow came down hard on Bulbasaur's bulb… not just once, but multiple times before Bulbasaur woke in time to pass out from fatigue.

The referee announced, "Bulbasaur is unable to battle. The winners are Kyle and Taillow!" Kyle celebrated with his Pokemon while the crowd cheered loudly.

Lee recalled Bulbasaur, telling his Pokemon, "You made a good effort. Now take a rest."

Lee came to center stage and held out his hand. "You know, Kyle, you're very talented for someone so young."

Kyle shook Lee's hand. "Thanks a lot, Lee. You didn't do so badly yourself."

The crowd cheered again for the sportsmanship exhibited by Kyle and Lee. Kyle left the stage, wondering if Ryo had gotten to the preparation room yet.

2 Minutes Later, Preparation Room-

Kyle entered the room and got the answer to his question… Ryo was indeed there, comforting Caryl the best he could.

"It's OK, Caryl… you'll just have to get him next time!" Ryo said.

"That bloke insulted me, Ryo. Can't you go beat him up?" Caryl asked sweetly.

Ryo sweatdropped and responded, "No… I don't want to end up going to jail, you know…"

Kyle sweatdropped as well and entered the room. Josh was the first to notice his entrance. "Well, how'd ya do?"

Kyle nodded and smiled. "We did pretty good. We won our first bout!"

Caryl looked at Kyle. "Then who will you face in the 2nd round?"

Kyle shook his head. "I don't know yet. It's whoever wins this next battle."

Caryl asked in the same sweet voice she tried to use to convince Ryo a few moments ago, "Kyle, can you do me a favor?"

Kyle got a little nervous, and for good reason. He wasn't sure what Caryl was going to ask. "OK… what is it?"

Caryl's tone of voice turned to anger in a real hurry. "If you meet Drew during the competition, kick his sorry behind!"

Josh and Ryo sweatdropped, but Kyle smiled. "That's a favor I can certainly try my best to do for you."

Caryl smiled. "Thanks."

5 Minutes Later, back in the main arena-

The announcer came back on stage. "That was a fantastic battle! But, now, it's time to find out who will face Kyle in the semi-finals in this, our fourth and final bout of Round  
One!"

The crowd cheered yet again, but with good reason this time. As soon as this bout was finished, the conference would be down to the final four competitors, so they were excited with good reason.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you should remember this trainer's Pokemon from the first round. Impressing us with displays of extreme strength, please welcome back Hoshi!"

Hoshi came out to the roars of the crowd. The very muscular Hoshi was clearly enjoying the attention quite a bit.

"And now, the person who managed to do exactly what Caryl and Lee did, putting the crowd in some danger with her Pokemon's tactics. Please welcome Joan to the stage!"

Joan came out to significantly less applause than Hoshi had a few moments before. She tried to appeal to the crowd, but to no avail as she crested the steps and took her position.

Joan looked across the field to the very muscular girl named Hoshi. Hoshi looked back at her, a confident grin on her face. She grinned back and then turned her back to her opponent to give a 'V for Victory' sign to the crowd.

That sparked the crowd into another roar of excited and ecstatic screaming. Joan's eyes focused on the cheering faces of James and Meowth and - she blinked in surprise - Trey and Dakarimon were right nearby clapping and hollering too.

Trey flashed her a thumbs up and a nod and she knew that he wasn't upset at her like she had thought.

She turned back to look at Hoshi who had waited patiently for her. Hoshi grinned and raised her hands in the air as she turned around.

The crowd responded and shouted as she made gesture after gesture in show. Hoshi went so far as to pop open a can of cola and gulp it down before smashing it against her forehead for even louder screaming.

The referee jogged out between the two and called them together for the normal Trainer handshake and a few ground rules. After that, he ran off field and waited for the two girls to get back to their sides.

The announcer, a little bit embarrassed by the behavior of the referee, announced the beginning of the bout.

"Undertaker, go!" Hoshi shouted and threw the Pokeball skyward. It burst open and out came her Machop who did a front flip before landing on the ground in a wrestler's stance.

"Dustox, show them your true strength!" Joan threw her Pokeball high and then caught it on its return, leaving Dustox to flutter high and come back down.

"Start things off, Undertaker! Use Leer!" Undertaker the Machop glared at Dustox quickly pushing the flying insect into a cowering moth.

"Don't fall for it, Dustox. You're strong enough to see through that! Now show them what you're made of with Whirlwind!" shouted Joan.

Dustox flew forward and then began flapping its wings hard and fast blowing up the air into a fairly well formed twister. It quickly shot forward, ensnaring the opponent within the wind and spinning it around several times.

The whirlwind dissipated to leave Machop staggering around as it got its bearings. Hoshi shouted for it to straighten up and pound the moth, just as Joan called for Stun Spore.

"Low Kick, Undertaker!"

"Stun Spore!"

Dustox darted around Undertaker throwing off the paralyzing dust spore from its wings and it wheeled around, but before the Spores could have a good grip on Undertakers muscles he jumped up and preformed a roundhouse kick that smashed into Dustox's right wing.

Both Pokemon wend to the ground in simultaneous crashes followed by surprised 'ooohs' from the crowd.

"C'mon Undertaker, fight it!"

"Dustox, shake it off! You've had worse!"

Dustox rose and flittered off the ground quickly regaining its strength. It waited for Joan to issue the next command: "Dustox, use Whirlwind and send it out of the ring!"

Dustox spun the air around it and quickly summoned a powerful micro-funnel that picked the paralyzed Machop up and hurled him from the ring. Hoshi stared in shock as Machop hit the ground right outside the ring and rolled twice.

"Undertaker, no!" Hoshi ran over to her Pokemon and began checking on him as the Referee came forward.

"Hold Dustox!" Joan called her Pokemon back and watched and waited for the Referee and Hoshi to determine that Hoshi's Machop was alright.

A moment later, the Referee stood and walked back out into the middle of the field. "The  
winner is Joan and Dustox!"

The crowd roared with excitement at this announcement and Joan grinned wide and threw up a V-for-Victory sign.

Hoshi held her Pokemon on the outside of the arena for a few moments before pulling out her Poke Ball. "You did a good job, Undertaker. Get some rest and we'll give it another try some time."

Hoshi looked at Joan basking in the crowd and decided not to say another word, instead choosing to exit the arena.

On stage, Joan was enjoying the attention, to be sure. She saw her compatriots cheering her from the crowd and became even more excited. At that particular moment, she thought entering the conference was entirely worth for this moment. No matter how things went down the rest of the way, she was quite pleased. Eventually, she was asked to leave stage by the Referee and the announcer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now down to the four who will compete in the semi-finals! #3 Kyle will face #7 Joan in the first battle and #4 Drew will face #8 Richard in the second battle. The winners of those bouts will be competing against each other for the right to win the ribbon for Slateport Conference!"

The crowd roared loudly again as a 10 minute intermission was called for the competitors to complete their preparations for the start of the second round of battle.

In the preparation room, Kyle heard his opponent's name and smiled. "Since we're now in the second round, I think the competition is going to be much fiercer than in the first round. This should be fun!"

Narrator: Things are getting exciting at Slateport Conference. With only two wins separating the four competitors from the ribbon, the battles will become even more intense. Who will claim the Slateport Ribbon? Find out next time on Digicross Advanced!

Next Time: The semi-finals and finals of Slateport Conference take place, with fame and the Slateport Ribbon hanging in the balance. Who will be the trainer that will take it all? Find out when the Battle for Slateport concludes on Digicross Advanced!


	26. Ep 25: Battle for Slateport, Pt 3

Last time on Digicross Advanced, the quarterfinals began at Slateport Conference. It was a round dotted with big upsets from Richard and his Vulpix as well as Joan, also known as Jessie, with her Dustox. Two other "favorites", Drew and his Roselia and Kyle and his Taillow advanced to the semi-finals as well. But now they must face one another in the ring. Who will become the champion of Slateport Conference? Find out right now on Digicross Advanced!

Digicross Advanced Episode 25: "The Battle for Slateport, Part 3"

Written by Josh Johannesen

The announcer came onto stage and made an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to begin the semifinals!"

The crowd cheered at the announcement.

"In our first semifinal, we have Kyle and his Taillow versus Joan and her Dustox!"

Kyle and Joan came out of opposite tunnels and both crested the stairs to arrive on the field at about the same time. Joan was trying to work the crowd up more than Kyle was. Kyle and Joan stared across the field at one another.

Kyle said quietly, "I'm on to you, Jessie…"

Jessie looked across at Kyle. "So what? You won't be able to use that knowledge to do anything, you twerp."

Kyle snapped, "No? Well, I can still beat your sorry behind."

Jessie snapped back, "We'll see about that, twerp!"

The announcer broke up the argument between the two of them. "Save your hostilities for the actual match, you two!" Jessie and Kyle glared at one another again. "Now, you both know the rules, so… begin!"

Kyle was first on the draw. "Go, Taillow!" The small bird flew onto the field.

Jessie quickly called out her Pokemon. "Let's do it, Dustox!" The purple moth came forth on the field quickly.

Kyle led off. "Taillow, use Quick Attack into a Peck to nail Dustox!" The attack saw Taillow moving as a blur across the field and impacting Dustox across the top of its body.

The attack did some damage to Dustox, but it wasn't apparent as the Pokemon recovered almost immediately. Jessie smirked. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that to beat me, twerp!"

Kyle growled, but Jessie proved her point rather fast. "Dustox, Psybeam!"

The attack caught both Kyle and Taillow off-guard as Taillow got hit by the rainbow-colored beam and fell to the ground.

Jessie began to laugh, infuriating Kyle. Kyle yelled, "Taillow, fight it! Get back up!" It took some effort, but Taillow got up off the floor.

In the stands, Casey noticed for the first time that along the battlefield was a big screen TV on which was two bars. One corresponded to Dustox and the other applied to Taillow. The reason Casey looked over there was because of the big drop in the bar's capacity when Taillow took the last hit.

"That screen must show the relative energy levels of the Pokemon!" Casey deduced.

Kyle responded to the adversity rather quickly. "Taillow, use Steel Wing to clip Dustox!"

Taillow's wings glowed brightly as he charged Dustox. Jessie, still laughing at how fast Taillow went down from the Psybeam, didn't notice the Steel Wing attack from Taillow. As a result, her Pokemon took a hit.

As soon as she heard the blow, Jessie turned to see Dustox on the arena floor. "Dustox, get up now!" Jessie commanded. Dustox struggled to fly on one of its wings, which was now damaged because of the Steel Wing attack.

The next couple of minutes were filled with attempts by Dustox to aim a Psybeam properly at Taillow. Each attack missed Taillow entirely because of his quick reflexes. Of course, the poorly aimed attacks didn't hurt either.

After each Psybeam attempt by Dustox, Taillow charged in with a combination of Quick Attack and Peck. Slowly but surely, Dustox was running out of stamina, as indicated by the meter on the screen.

In the preparation room, Josh, Dori, Ryo and especially Caryl were cheering Kyle on.

Josh yelled at the TV, "You can do it, Kyle!"

Ryo yelled, "Don't let her catch you off-guard!"

Dori added, "Do your best!"

Caryl yelled, "You better not screw this up, Evanick!"

Josh, Ryo and Dori sweatdropped.

Back on the battlefield, Dustox's time was running out both figuratively and literally. There was less than a minute left in the match, and Dustox was low on stamina according to the meter. "If I don't do something fast, we're toast!" Jessie thought to herself. She knew she had one excellent combination in case of an emergency… and this qualified.

"Dustox, Stun Spore now!" A small cloud of the powerful yellow powder gathered around Dustox, not drifting toward Taillow much at all.

Kyle wondered what Jessie was up to, but then he remembered Dustox's combination from the first round of the competition. "Dustox, Whirlwind attack now!"

The whirlwind whipped up by Dustox's wings attracted all of the Stun Spore particles, creating a Stun Spore Whirlwind which sped right for Taillow. Kyle nearly panicked because he wasn't quite sure what to do. Suddenly, he had an idea, one which gave him a chance to steal the match.

"Taillow, fly straight through the whirlwind using Quick Attack and use Peck on Dustox!" Kyle's judgment was right… Taillow flew through Dustox's Whirlwind without stopping and without being affected by the whirlwind. Then, while Dustox was still flapping its wings for the Whirlwind, Taillow pecked it repeatedly until it fainted from exhaustion.

"Dustox is unable to battle. The winners of this battle and the first to reach the finals are Kyle and Taillow!" the referee announced to the crowd.

The crowd began to cheer loudly once more as Kyle celebrated on stage with Taillow. Across the stage, Jessie looked completely crushed. "Return, Dustox…" were the only words she could muster before she slinked off-stage. At this time, James, Meowth, Trey and Dakarimon all left the stands to rejoin their comrade in the tunnels below the arena.

Kyle left the stage after recalling Taillow, but not before waving to the crowd to appeal to them. It wasn't really necessary, but it sure did feel good to have the crowd cheering for you, and you alone.

A cut into the stands reveals that Casey had also left the stands for reasons unknown to anyone other than herself.

The Tunnels-

Trey, Dakarimon, James and Meowth met a very depressed Jessie on her way out of the stadium.

James tried to bring Jessie out of the proverbial doldrums. "You did pretty great in there, Jess!"

Jessie looked at the floor and responded, "Yeah, but I lost to a twerp…"

Meowth jumped in, "Yeah, but you put up a great fight against da twerp! We normally lose before we even get started!"

Trey smiled at Jessie. "I must admit, for as much trouble as you folks have against your test subjects, you did pretty well, Jessie."

Jessie began to perk up. "R… really, Trey?"

Trey nodded. "Absolutely. You did all right today."

Dakarimon added, "And you're only bound to get better from here."

Jessie smiled and sniffled a little bit. "Thanks, you guys."

Jessie, Trey, Dakarimon, James and Meowth walked together out of the arena, moving on toward bigger and better things.

Preparation Room-

Kyle had just walked into the room to the cheers of his friends.

Caryl walked up to Kyle and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to the floor. "Listen, Kyle… if Drew wins this next match, you had dang well better win the conference outright… or I will not be happy with you… and you **do not** want to get on my bad side…"

Kyle, not being in a position to bargain or argue, quickly nods and agrees. Josh, Ryo and Dori sweatdrop quickly, but then someone comes through the door who no one expected to see down here… Casey.

Ryo was the first to speak the question on everyone's mind when they saw her in the door, "Casey, what are you doing down here?"

Casey sheepishly said, "I… uh… came down here to congratulate Kyle on his victory."

Josh saw through it right away, though. "You were lonely up there by yourself, weren't you Casey?"

Casey glared at Josh. "Like I would ever miss being with you, Joshy!"

Josh didn't even dignify that remark with a response. Ryo, however, did. "Look, Casey, it's OK to want to be with your friends. It's only natural."

Casey swallowed a little of her pride and nodded before coming into the room outright.

Needless to say, she sat down as far away from Josh as possible, and in fact, sat down next to Kyle as they all turned back to the TV to watch the next match…

On the Stage-

The announcer of the Conference came on stage. "That was an exciting bout that came down to the wire! What can we expect out of this, our second match of the semifinals? Let's start finding out now!"

The crowd went wild after seeing the close bout that the battle between "Joan" and Kyle had turned out to be.

"Please welcome back to the stage Richard and Drew!"

Richard walked into the arena waving to the crowd and looking genuinely excited to have made it this far into the tournament. Drew walked in from the other side and didn't bother to even wave to the crowd, still showing the arrogant air he did in the first round.

Richard crested the stairs first, followed closely by Drew.

"Let's have a good match, Drew." Richard said in an excited tone.

"Yeah, and when I win, I'll take all the glory." Drew said.

Richard was a little hurt by the comment, and it showed, but what he didn't know was that there was at least six people backstage rooting Richard on toward victory.

"Get him!" Kyle yelled.

"Kill that bloke!" Caryl screamed.

Everyone in the room sweatdropped at Caryl's comment.

Back in the arena, the announcer said, "You two know what to do. Make it a clean fight… and begin!"

Drew pulled out his Poke Ball first. "Go… Roselia." He said with an almost bored tone in his voice. The small green Pokemon with flowers on her arms appeared.

Richard drew his Poke Ball second. "Go, Vulpix!" The small red six-tailed fox appeared on the field.

Drew decided to try using the same maneuver he used in the quarterfinals. "Roselia, use your natural attraction!" Roselia began to flirt with Vulpix and try to obtain her love.

Unfortunately, all the flirting in the world wouldn't draw Vulpix's mind out of the battle. This was simply because both Vulpix and Roselia were female. There was no attraction between the two Pokemon.

Richard smiled and ordered Vulpix to begin "square formation". Vulpix disappeared into thin air, causing Drew to get slightly worried for a moment. Vulpix appeared a few moments later at the edge of the arena.

Drew saw this as his opportunity to knock Vulpix out of the ring and win the fight. "Roselia, use Magical Leaf on Vulpix now!"

Richard was ready for this, however. "Vulpix, use Quick Attack and circle the ring!"

Even though the Magical Leaf attack was fast, it wasn't nearly fast enough to keep up with Vulpix's Quick Attack. Vulpix circled the arena several times, much like she had against Dori in Round One.

"Vulpix, begin launching Flamethrower!" From this point on, Vulpix launched Flamethrower every time she stopped in one of the corners of the arena. Roselia got hit the first couple of times as she tried her best to dodge the attacks, but got slightly singed.

But Drew saw a pattern to the madness and smiled widely. "You're a pretty good competitor, Richard… but not nearly good enough." He looked at Roselia. "Roselia, use your Magical Leaf to catch Vulpix off-balance!"

When Roselia dodged the next round of Flamethrower, she began to concentrate on Vulpix's movements. It became clear to her that Vulpix's movements followed a set pattern, and it could be predicted rather easily. So as it turns out, after three more rounds of Flamethrower, Vulpix stopped in the corner and got hit with a face full of Magical Leaf.

The attack didn't do much in the way of damage, but it certainly distracted Vulpix. This moment of distraction was what Drew needed to get Roselia back on her feet. With Roselia more than 50 gone on the stamina meter, it was now or never for her.

"Roselia, launch Poison Sting at Vulpix now!" A stream of white needles shot out of Roselia's flower right at the stunned Vulpix. Needless to say, the attack struck Vulpix pretty hard, causing about 15 to come off the stamina meter. That was about it, though, as Vulpix didn't feel any lasting effects from the attack.

"Vulpix, begin your formation again!" Vulpix began to run around the arena again as Drew got a little bit angry that Poison Sting didn't work better for him.

"You little…" were the only words Drew could manage. In his mind, he thought to himself, 'I can't let Roselia take too many more hits… or she'll lose…"

Vulpix continued to run around the arena, as apparently Richard was happy to allow time to run out in the round, since he could see that Vulpix was ahead in the stamina department.

With one minute to go in the match, Drew knew he needed to get lucky or go home. "Roselia, Magical Leaf attack!"

Roselia took a random shot at a location along the arena edge. And as luck would have it, the attack hit Vulpix dead-on, causing her to lose her balance a little bit. Drew smirked in that moment, thinking he could pull off a last second victory.

"Roselia, barrage Vulpix with Magical Leaf while she's off-balance!" Roselia launched a large amount of Magical Leaf attacks, each one taking a sliver off Vulpix's stamina meter, but not causing the Pokemon to tumble from the arena.

After about 10 such attacks impacted Vulpix, a horn sounded, meaning that time was up in the battle.

As both combatants were still standing, it would have to come down to who had the most energy left. And as all eyes turned to the big screen one thing became painfully obvious… both meters were about half full, meaning that this had been an extremely close match-up.

While the judges looked closer at a smaller version of the big screen, the crowd murmured, wondering who had come out victorious in the closest bout of the conference so far.

Backstage, the Digidestined were hoping that it would be Richard who would eventually be declared the winner of the conference.

The deliberations of the judges went on for several minutes before they finally came to a decision and they handed it to the announcer who came on stage between the two trainers and their Pokemon.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have made their decision. And the winner is…"

Everyone turned their eyes to the announcer, who was obviously stalling to gain even more suspense from an already dramatic moment. But they didn't care. They wanted to know who had done it.

Finally, the announcer finished, "Richard by the slimmest of margins! His Vulpix wins by just 1!"

The crowd erupts in cheers for both the winning trainer, Richard and the losing trainer, Drew. Richard can't help but celebrate on stage with his Pokemon. Drew is very upset, not only at Richard and Vulpix for actually having the nerve to win, but for making he and Roselia lose.

Richard offered his hand to Drew, but Drew waved it off. "You got lucky today, punk. But next time we meet, you won't be so lucky…" With that ominous comment, Drew left the stage to massive applause.

Richard left a few moments later to even greater applause. The announcer, still standing on stage, made the routine announcement. "Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen; we have our match-up for the finals of this Slateport Conference! On both sides of the field will be trainers who are relatively young and incredibly talented to have made it this far! It will be Kyle and Taillow versus Richard and Vulpix!"

The crowd erupted in cheers for both competitors right before a 15-minute recess was called for both of them to make their final preparations.

Preparation Room-

The scene was a lot different inside of the preparation room, as rampant embarrassment ruled the moment. Caryl had decided it was a good idea to do a happy dance on the benches, cackling like a mad woman all the time. Needless to say, everyone else in the room was completely embarrassed by her actions, despite the fact that there were only Digidestined in the room.

Unfortunately, not long from this moment, Richard entered the room and joined in the rampant embarrassment, especially when Caryl began to hug him and thank him repeatedly for "getting rid of the bane of my existence". A little overdramatic, yes, but it got the point across.

A few minutes later, Kyle and Richard are seen leaving the Preparation Room, but not before shaking hands, wishing each other luck, and swearing to each other that they would have a good, clean match. They then go in opposite directions.

Kyle thought, 'You better bring your a-game, because I'm going to being mine!'

Richard thought, 'It's great to have made it this far… but now I'm going to aim for the win!'

In the Arena, 5 minutes later-

The announcer came on stage. "This is the moment you have all been waiting for. This is the final round of Slateport Conference!"

As usual, the crowd cheered loudly.

"Please welcome back to the stage Kyle and Richard!"

As both boys came out of the tunnels, the crowd on each side of the arena actually went another step further with their cheering and began chanting the two boys' names. Kyle couldn't help but be embarrassed over the kind of attention he was receiving from the crowd. Richard, however, basked in it, almost seemed to thrive in it.

They both crested the stairs and looked at one another. They both understood the pressure riding on their shoulders at that moment. It was all or nothing for both of them. Only one would become champion. And as the saying goes, "Nobody remembers second place".

"Good luck to both of you!" The announcer said as he went off-stage. "And… begin!"

Kyle and Richard both pulled out their Poke Balls. "Go, Taillow!" Kyle yelled. "Go get 'em, Vulpix!" Richard yelled even louder. Before too long, both Taillow and Vulpix were on the field facing one another.

For about the first 30 seconds or so, it was a pure, old-fashioned stare down. Both were trying to size up their opponent, each trainer waiting for the other to make the first move. The crowd around them waited with bated breath as the two trainers did nothing.

Finally, Kyle said, "Taillow, fly into mid-air!" He did as Kyle asked. At the same time, Richard told Vulpix to, "Be ready for anything!"

Vulpix stood on guard, ready to repel any strike that might come her way. Suddenly, Taillow disappeared with extreme quickness. He reappeared behind Vulpix and charged with such speed that Vulpix fell to the ground from the impact. The crowd erupted in excitement at finally seeing some action after nearly sixty seconds of posturing between the two of them.

Richard yelled out some encouragement to Vulpix as she got up. "Don't give up, Vulpix! We can match him speed for speed!"

Vulpix got the idea rather quickly and began using Quick Attack herself. The next few moments were very tense, as literally no one could see what in the world was going on. Both had essentially disappeared from the arena floor. The only sign that either was still in the building were the occasional sounds of both Pokemon impacting one another.

The crowd didn't say anything or do anything, afraid they might miss something if they looked away from the arena for even a second. People were even afraid to sneeze.

Both Kyle and Richard were trying their best to follow the action on the floor themselves, but despite the fact that they were so close to the action, all they could see were blurs as well. They had to wait it out like everyone else did until one of them came out of the series of attacks all right.

About 2 minutes later and halfway through the battle's time limit, Vulpix suddenly tripped and fell. Taillow took advantage of the opportunity and pecked her a few times following a successful Quick Attack.

The crowd erupted in cheers again at Taillow's level of skill, and they cheered even more when Vulpix showed the grit that a true champion must possess by picking herself off of the ground a few moments later.

Richard looked over at the big screen and saw that Vulpix had lost about half of her stamina with that last set of attacks. He knew that time was running out and he needed to do something in a hurry.

"Vulpix, square formation!" Richard yelled out to his Pokemon.

Vulpix quickly responded with Faint Attack to get to the edge of the arena, then began to use Quick Attack to hit the edges of the arena one after another, all while keeping Taillow disoriented.

It was at that moment that Kyle had a great idea. "Taillow, Quick Attack!"

Taillow began to follow Vulpix around the arena, keeping Richard's Flamethrower strategy from working properly, because if Vulpix tried to fire off a Flamethrower, she would get struck by Taillow's Quick Attack.

It was a brilliant strategy which created another battle of speed versus speed. Unlike the last battle of speed, the audience could see every few seconds Vulpix and Taillow changing directions.

Also unlike the last battle, there would have been no end to it had it not been for the clock going off, announcing the end of the round. Richard had been too afraid to pull the trigger, and it ended up costing him, as the time ran out with Vulpix only at half strength versus Taillow's 80 strength.

"And that's it! The battle is over! And with a margin of 80 to 50, Taillow has won the round and that means that Kyle Evanick has won Slateport Conference!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Kyle breathed a massive sigh of relief, not sure how things were going to turn out. Richard was a little depressed at the loss, but quickly perked up. After all, he was a rookie trainer and he had survived all the way into the finals of Slateport Conference.

Richard came to center stage and offered his hand. "Congratulations, Kyle. You really deserve this win."

Kyle shook his hand and said, "So do you, Richard. You really put up a fantastic fight!"

The announcer spoke up, "This is a fantastic display of sportsmanship! Let's have a big hand for our runner-up Richard and our winner Kyle!"

The crowd really didn't need prompting, but they followed the announcer's request to cheer for Kyle and Richard.

In the Preparation Room, the scene wasn't nearly as embarrassing as it was when Drew went down to Richard. Everyone in the room was celebrating Kyle's victory.

Ryo exclaimed, "He actually did it!"

Casey said, "I don't believe it!"

Josh added, "First time out and he wins a ribbon… amazing."

Caryl said, "It would have been a lot more fun if Kyle beat Drew himself instead of Drew losing to Richard."

Dori said, "Well, Kyle beat the guy who beat Drew… so in a way, he kind of did beat Drew."

Caryl thought about it for a second before responding, "Whatever."

20 Minutes Later-

Kyle stood alone onstage as he showed off the blue Ribbon he had won to the audience. They cheered loudly for the champion Kyle. Kyle's friends stood at the edge of the tunnels, rooting on their friend as well.

It was a time of great pride for Kyle Evanick, as he had proven to everyone that he had what it took to be something special.

10 Minutes later, outside the conference arena-

Caryl climbed onto her Pokemon Aerodactyl, ready to return home.

"Come on, Caryl; just stay a little bit longer…" Ryo implored.

Caryl shook her head. "I can't, Ryo, my darling. But I will be back, don't you worry about that." She then turned her attention to Kyle Evanick. "You may have won this conference, Kyle, but don't think that means I'll make it easy for you next time!"

Kyle smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Caryl!"

With that Caryl took off on her Aerodactyl toward Johto, Kanto and home.

Dori also began to walk away, with Toy Agumon reluctantly following.

Josh seemed to be the most concerned about it, though. "Will we see you again, Dori?"

Dori just smiled. "The road to the Hoenn League is long and twisted. We'll see each other again, somewhere down the road."

As Dori began to leave, the Digidestined waved to her and wished her luck at Dewford Gym, knowing that Brawly always puts up a tough fight.

Narrator: "And so, thanks to some quick thinking, and a very capable Pokemon, Kyle won his first ribbon at Slateport Conference. But now the Digidestined get back on track to their real goal after saying good-bye to their friends Dori and Caryl. Their next stop is the Mauville Gym, and who knows what twists and turns our heroes will encounter along the way? The answers lie just over the horizon…"

Next Time: The Digidestined go to the Oceanic Museum to do some exploring and research. Unbeknownst to them, there are eyes watching a special prize within that museum. What will happen? And who's the kid with the strange penguin? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	27. Ep 26: The Watery Heist

Narrator: "Last time, Kyle won himself the blue ribbon of Slateport Conference and celebrated quite a lot. Caryl returned home after the Conference and Dori and the Destined parted ways, knowing they will inevitably meet again someday. But what will happen today? Find out right now on Digicross Advanced!"

Digicross Advanced Episode 26: "The Watery Heist"

Episode Written by Ninetalesuk and Josh Johannesen

Josh, Ryo, Kyle and Casey went back into the outdoor market, looking to gain an edge over their foes. As they walk from stall to stall, they see all the various sorts of items any trainer worth their weight would need from time to time.

Kyle, in the meantime, was gawking at the ribbon he had won the previous day at Slateport Conference. "I can't believe I did it on my first try."

Casey made a suggestion, "Why don't you put that ribbon on Taillow? He earned it for you, after all."

Kyle thought about it for a minute, and then answered, "I don't want Taillow to stand out, that's all."

Josh and Ryo sweatdropped at Kyle's remark.

After a few minutes, they passed a most unusual stand which had some items most trainers would consider unnecessary at best. An older person yelled out, "Get your jokes right here!"

Kyle walked up to the stand, not quite sure what to expect. Casey was not far behind and soon, the two of them were side by side.

Kyle asked, "What do you mean by, 'Get your jokes here'?"

The man answered, "We sell practical jokes and practical joke devices here."

The man in the booth quickly grabbed something and proceeded to use it on Casey and Kyle. The device was… a pair of joke handcuffs. Kyle and Casey were now locked together much like Josh and Casey had been just a few days ago.

Casey yelled, "Great! Now we're stuck together! Thanks a lot!"

Josh heard that from a distance and couldn't help but laugh. When Josh laughed, Casey ran over to try and club Josh, but Kyle was dead weight on her being dragged along, so the effect was nowhere near as devastating as it should have been.

As Casey chased Josh the best he could, Ryo went up to the man at the stand and asked him, "Is there any way to get them off?"

The man thought for a moment, and then responded, "By getting it really, really wet."

Ryo sweatdropped, knowing full well that none of the Pokemon with them would be able to get Kyle and Casey "really, really wet".

Josh continued to run away at just the right pace to stay in front of the charging Casey, but suddenly, something appeared in front of Casey, a Gastly.

Casey stopped in front of the Pokemon and stared at him. This gave Kyle more than enough time to get up off the ground and start to dust himself off.

Unfortunately, the Gastly had managed to hypnotize Casey. She no longer cared about Josh at all. Instead, she began to walk slowly like a zombie toward a location inside which the handcuffs would be unlocked…

Kyle quickly noticed that Casey was moving again and ran to match step with her. "Casey, where are you going?"

Casey didn't respond, causing Kyle to worry just a little bit about what might happen. It wasn't until he and Casey were in front of the building Gastly had hypnotized her to go to… a car wash. One of the few in Hoenn, in fact.

As soon as Kyle saw that Casey was going into the car wash, dragging him with her, he yelled, "Stop it, Casey! Stop it now!"

Of course, she wasn't listening and both of them entered the car wash…

When Josh and Ryo heard a scream a few moments later, they ran to the exit of the Car Wash just in time to see a drenched Kyle and Casey exit it, sans handcuffs. Both Josh and Ryo fought to hold back their laughter.

Ryo observed, however, "Hey, at least you got the handcuffs off…"

Casey and Kyle looked at each other's wrists and saw that this was indeed the case. "I guess the water got it off."

Ryo then added, "Come on you guys, let's get out of here."

As Ryo walked off, the Gastly that hypnotized Casey in the first place appeared and began to laugh as only a Gastly can. "Gassstly…" He began to float in the direction of the joke stand.

"So, we are done with the Contest, been to the stalls..." Josh muttered. "Now what?"

Taking a look at a booklet about Slateport City, Ryo had an idea. "How about the Oceanic Museum? It's all about the Sea-Life."

Casey nodded. "OK... Let's go there."

Upon arriving at Oceanic Museum, the group found that it costs about 2 dollars each to get in. So, in order to get in... The group had to decide who had the most money.

"I got... 3 dollars..." Kyle muttered.

Casey fished through her pockets. 3 cents..." She muttered with a sweatdrop.

"I've got 2..." Josh stopped all the sudden. "Where is Ryo...?"

They soon caught Ryo from sneaking out from paying about 8 dollars so they can get in. They team started off to search around the bottom floor of the museum. Ryo walked over to a couple of cylinders far off.

"What are these...?" Ryo muttered. He looked inside the right cylinder to see a red ball bobbling up and down inside the vessel. He looked at the notice beside it. "This is an experiment simulating a Waterfall using the ball's buoyancy..." He looked up. "Interesting."

He turned his attention to the left cylinder and saw a blue fluid that was spiraling inside it. Ryo looked at the notice. "This is an experiment to create a Whirlpool artificially using wind." He stood up straight and rubbed his chin. "Hmm... They are creating known Water type moves with the machines... Pretty cool."

Josh, Kyle and Casey were looking at some facts on a wall nearby. And each of them noticed that they were only THREE facts put up on the wall.

"What? Ran out of space or something?" Josh asked.

Casey sighed. "They might put up more when they gain more facts."

Kyle nodded. "I wonder what they say..."

OCEANIC MINI FACT 1

Why Is Seawater Blue?

Light is composed of many colours. When light passes through water, most kinds of light lose colour. However, blue light retains its colour, making the sea appear blue."

OCEANIC MINI FACT 2

Why Is the Sea Salty?

Seawater contains dissolved salt in the form of sodium and chlorine ions. These ions leach out of rocks and are carried out to sea by rain. The concentration of dissolved salt makes the sea salty.

OCEANIC MINI FACT 3

Which is Bigger? The Sea or Land?

The sea covers about 70 per cent of the planet, and the rest is land. The sea is therefore more than twice the size of land.

After finishing with the other side of the room, Ryo walked over to where the others are. "Hey, you guys! Come and check this out..."

He soon sweatdropped to see the sleeping forms of Casey, Kyle and Josh near the three facts, bored to death. "Er... guys...?"

"The Oceanic Museum... One of the main attractions in Slateport City!" Jessie said as she, James and Meowth stood outside the backdoor. "And a good chance to grab the main prize inside the museum! The Indigo Orb!"

James was reading out from the same booklet that Ryo was reading. "The Indigo Orb is an ancient Pokemon relic which is said to call upon the Legendary Hoenn Pokemon of the Sea, Kyogre."

A glint came into the eyes of Meowth. "And this will give us the chance to get back into the boss's good books! Not only the boss will have a beautiful gem but, he'll also have the power to summon AND control a Legendary Pokemon!"

"And with Kyogre working for Team Rocket, our plans for world domination will totally go through the roof!" Jessie said, happily.

"Except, a couple of problems here..." James said. "They got a guard here at the back door..."

Meowth nodded. "Yeah... and he looks tough..."

Jessie grabbed James and they started to change into different outfits. "Do not worry, Meowth! Me and James will become members of the Oceanic Museum staff so, they won't know a thing!" She soon finished the business. "TA DA!"

James looked at his new suit. "Not bad..."

Nodding, Jessie pointed at the door. "OK... Let's go!"

James knocked on the door and a tough looking guard came out. "Yes...?"

Gulping, James tried not to look scared. "W..We are Oceanic Staff, coming back to work. May you please let us through, my good man...?"

"Sure... Only on one condition..." Said the guard.

"And that is...?" Jessie asked.

The guard brought out a sign with a picture of a Ludicolo. "Answer my questions right, and you could go through..."

Sweatdropping, Jessie nodded slowly. "OK... Let's have it..."

"Question 1... Ludicolo is a pure Water type. True or false?" The guard said.

After a moments thinking, Jessie came up with an answer. "True!"

"FALSE! Ludicolo is a Water and Grass type Pokemon!" Said the guard before he starts to close the door. "Goodbye..."

Jessie gasped. "WAIT! GIVE ME ANOTHER QUESTION!"

Sighing, the guard came out with another sign that has a picture of a Wailord. "OK... OK... Question 2... What is the size of Wailord...?"

"6.07!" Jessie quickly said.

The guard shook his head. "Nope... That is WAILMER's height! Wailord's height is 47.07, making him the largest Pokemon ever to exist!" He starts to close the door again. "So long..."

"Wait! Give me one more chance!" Jessie screamed.

"Very well... One more question... Get this right, and I might let you through..." The guard said as he brought out another sign.

James whispered to Jessie. "Make this count, Jess... PLEASE!"

"Don't worry... I won't fail!" Jessie said.

"Final Question... Which is Cuter...?" The guard asked as he held up a sign with two pictures on it. "Vulpix or Arbok?"

Jessie grinned. "What a silly question... It's Arbok!"

The guard laughed as he closed the door. "WRONG!"

As Jessie and James sweatdropped, Meowth came out looking bored. "It's Vulpix, Jess..."

"Now, why did he asked us all that questions...?" James said. "Aren't we dressed up as staff for the Oceanic Museum?"

Meowth nodded. "Yes, well... There are two good reasons why he asked those questions... Seeing as this is showing the past and present of the ocean, he wanted to make sure you have knowledge on the Water based Pokemon."

"And what is the second reason?" James asked.

Meowth pointed at Jessie's chest. "She forgot to put her Oceanic Museum top on!"

Looking down, Jessie sweatdrop to learn she still has her white shirt with the red R on top of it. That kinda gives their disguises away a bit. "Dang it..."

At the entrance of the Oceanic Museum, the receptionist was dealing with three tough looking guys in red suits. "That will be 6 dollars for the three of you to enter the museum."

"6 dollars, huh...?" The first red suited man said before he motions his head. "Come on, boys... Let's forget this and move onto important business."

The other two nodded as they followed their boss into the museum... WITHOUT PAYING! The receptionist quickly called out after them. "HEY! YOU HAVE TO PAY BEFORE YOU CAN GET IN!"

One of the red grunts growled as he brought out a Poke-Ball. "Shut it..."

The receptionist gasped as the red grunt brought out a black Pokemon that is about 5 foot tall with a single red eye, standing on two legs like a human does. It has two hands like a human and a flowing strand of brown energy behind it. To top it off, a brown "hat" sits atop its head. It started to wave its hands in a macabre manner and made her look into it's single eye. She passed out onto the floor.

"Have... a nice... day..."

At the entrance of Slateport City, two newcomers have arrived. One of them was a teenage trainer with his hat, jacket, shirt and shorts all coloured blue and green. His trainers are red with white laces. Beside him was a small blue penguin bird.

This trainer is Edward Silver who came from New Bark Town that is located in the Johto region. He finally decided to enter a Pokemon League so, he came here to start his new journey with only three Pokemon. So far, he has already claimed two Gym Badges of Hoenn… the Dynamo Badge and the Heat Badge.

Sighing, Edward rubbed his head. "OK, Penguinmon... Here we are in Slateport City... Now, remember, I want you to be on your best behaviour..."

"No worries, Ed. You can count on me!" Penguinmon replied.

Sweatdropping, Edward moved his hat about before taking it off and looked at the colours. "Remind me WHY my clothes are blue and green...?"

Penguinmon sniggered. "Based upon that blue hedgehog dude from the other realm. What's his name, Sonic the Hedgehog because of his blue fur and green eyes."

"AND red sneakers and a white line..." Edward muttered as he placed his hat back on and pointed to his sneakers. "I'm so glad NO ONE in this world has heard of Sonic the Hedgehog yet..."

"Repeat the word, Ed!" Penguinmon said. "YET!"

Sighing, Edward looked at the three filled Poke-Balls located on his belt. "First things first is that we find someway to get to Dewford to claim a badge then, head to Rustboro to claim my fourth gym badge. With any luck, I could be halfway to reach the League by the end of this month."

Penguinmon nodded. "Yeah... and when this year's Pokemon League is over, you will be known as the Master of 2-on-2 Pokemon Battles!"

"That is if I have a full set of Pokemon. Typhlosion is here because he is my starter, baby Lugia is here because I can't keep my eye off him for one minute and Blastoise is here because he is the perfect babysitter for Lugia." Edward said.

Crossing his flippers, Penguinmon smirked. "Some babysitter... thanks to his keen eyes, he let that little guy to have a meal out of your meal during your date with Shaina."

"Hey, ANYONE can make mistakes... I mean, look at me... I've been partnered with you." Edward said before he smirked.

"WATCH IT!" Penguinmon yelled.

Before anything could happen, Edward's small grey Digivice started to beep. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it to see 4 blinking dots in the screen. "Hey... we got fellow Digidestined in this city."

"Really...? Where?" Penguinmon asked.

Before Edward could answer the question, his Digivice suddenly began to go berserk and eventually shut off completely.

"What in the…" Edward asked himself.

"What happened, Ed?" Penguinmon asked with curiosity in his voice.

"I don't know, Penguinmon, but for some reason, my Digivice quit working."

Penguinmon then thought it best to revise a question he asked earlier, "Well, before your Digivice went completely nutso, where did you see other Digidestined?"

Edward used his keen mind to try and pinpoint where the signal was pointing to.

After a few moments, Edward pointed to where the Oceanic Museum is. "There! I think it is one of the main attractions in Slateport, the Oceanic Museum! All about the history of the sea!"

"Oh the sea... yet so grand..." Penguinmon said in a far-away voice, hearts in his eyes.

Sweatdropping, Edward picked up his partner and walked over to the museum. "Come on, lover boy... Let's check out these Digidestined along with the museum..."

Ryo, Casey, Kyle and Josh stood in awe as they saw a beautiful sight coming from a blue aqua pearl, placed on a red pillow and sealed inside a glass case.

"So.. this is the Indigo Orb...?" Casey whispered.

"An ancient relic from the battle between Groudon and Kyogre long ago...?" Kyle added.

Amazing, Ryo nodded. "Yeah... It's amazing that a gem like this has the power to control one of the most powerful Pokemon to exist..."

"Wonder what happens if we owned this orb...?" Josh asked.

"Maybe getting chased and running for our lives..." Casey muttered. "No way, no how are we gonna own a Pokemon that powerful!"

Ryo rubbed his chin. "Makes me wonder if Team Aqua is after this... They use Water Pokemon so, getting this orb could increase their chances of doing what they want to do... whatever it is..."

Kyle nodded. "You're right..."

"I agree which is why we are here to take it away!" Came a voice. Before the four Destined could react, a rope that was hooked with two metal cannonballs quickly came out of no where and tied them up with a cannon ball hitting one of the DD's head...

(CLANG!)

"YOW!" Cried Josh in pain.

Casey gasped. "Are you okay?"

Josh gritted his teeth in pain. "Yeah... thanks for your concern..."

"I'm talking to the cannon ball... I'm more worried it would have cracked because of your thick head." Casey said, with an evil grin.

Forgetting his pain for a moment, Josh yelled. "WHY I OUGTHA..." He then, groaned. "My head..."

Kyle wiggled in the ropes. "It's too tight... what could have attacked us like this...?"

Laughing, the three attackers came into the room with three Pokemon. A Golbat, a Houndoom and the strange Pokemon that put the receptionist to sleep.

Ryo growled. "Does that answer your question? Team Magma!"

The leader of Team Magma chuckled. "Glad we are known to a few nosy brats like you..."

"What the heck is that Pokemon?" Casey asked, looking at the single-eyed Pokemon.

"This is my Dusclops, a Ghost Pokemon that is very handy on Hypnosis." Said the first Magma grunt. "And now, if you excuse us, we just an orb to steal."

Casey's eyes widen. "Huh...? But, you guys uses LAND Pokemon... Why steal something to do with the SEA...?"

"To prevent Aqua's dream to awake Kyogre!" Said the leader of Team Magma as the approached the glass case with an evil grin.

"Oh great... Just what we need... Hoenn's own Team Rocket rip-offs..." Came a voice. The Magna grunts whirled around to see Edward walking into the room with Penguinmon.

Ryo's eyes widen. "E...Edward...?"

"Ryo? Is that you...? What is going on here...?" Edward asked.

Casey screamed. "NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT! DEAL WITH THESE JERKS FIRST!"

The leader of the Magma grunts laughed. "Forget it... How can you beat these three...?" As he said this, the Golbat, Houndoom and Dusclops leapt in front of him and took battle stance.

Edward didn't say anything except, grabbing a Poke-Ball and throw it. "GO, BLASTOISE!"

The Poke-Ball opened up and a huge turtle stood, bringing out a pair of cannons located on/in top of his shell. "Blast..."

"WHOA... What a biggie..." Kyle whispered.

The second Magma grunt laughed. "HA! How can that pathetic Pokemon stop us?"

"Blastoise, HYDRO CANNON!" Edward yelled out.

"HYDRO CANNON?" Screamed the four Digidestined.

In Blastoise's cannons, it started to absorb water before unleashing a pair of high-pressured water that targeted the three Magma's and their Pokemon.

Two words came out of the Magma grunt leader as the Hydro Cannon came towards them. "Ah... nuts..."

Outside, Team Rocket were standing outside the window where the Indigo Orb is located. Jessie grinned. "OK... Let's barge in and collect the prize!"

"Easier said than done..." Meowth muttered.

James looked in before he blinked. "Erm, Jessie... What does it mean when three members of Team Magma and three of their Pokemon are coming towards us, flying through the air while being pushed by a huge water gun attack...?"

The window broke and Team Rocket were caught along with Team Magma in the powerful Hydro Cannon attack. While Team Magma were pushed away into a forest nearby, Team Rocket was now flying through the air, away from Slateport.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

That was the answer to James' question...

Returning Blastoise into his Poke-Ball, Edward brought out a knife and walked over to the tied-up trainers. "That was easy.."

"Ed... what are you doing here...?" Kyle asked.

"I'm gonna enter the Hoenn League. You?" Edward said as he started to cut the ropes.

Pulling his arm free and rubbing his head, Josh sighed. "Some of us are going into the League and also entering the Contests."

Edward nodded before turning to Ryo. "So, what just happened?"

"It's a long story... Let's just say you just saved the day." Ryo said, with a smile.

Soon, the manager came in and asked what just happened. After explaining to the manager what just happened, he had this to say.

"Who is gonna pay for the broken window...?"

And you could hear Josh, Kyle and Casey pointing at Ryo, whom was crying while Edward and Penguinmon stood by with confused looks.

Evening has started to set and the small team of Digidestined were standing at the entrance of Slateport with Edward and Penguinmon seeing them off.

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Ryo asked.

Edward shook his head. "Nah... Me and Penguinmon are heading over to Dewford and then to Rustboro. Maybe one day, we'll meet again."

Ryo nodded with a smile. "Yeah... maybe..."

Narrator: And so, our heroes have made a new friend in the persona of Edward Silver and his wise-cracking Digimon, Penguinmon. Their paths diverge now, but they may come together once more in the vast region of Hoenn!

-Dark Ocean-

The ruins of a castle sprawled out all over the Dark Ocean's landscape, the castle of the fallen lord of the darkness. He had tried to conquer all existence from here, but had failed miserably, being destroyed at the capable hands of the Digidestined.

Demon's regime had fallen at the hands of the Destined, but not all members of that regime had been defeated, and some would be seeking revenge…

A massive figure strode through the rubble of the castle, its rotting body shuffling about the bits of debris. Following closely behind is a fairly large figure with a lot of armor on its body. The armored creature asked the being in front of it, "Come on, already master… can't we finally go out there and do some damage?"

The rotting creature shook his head and responded, "Not quite yet, my eager Magnatar… it's not quite the right… time." Magnatar stomped and said, "What exactly are we waiting for, Lord Murmuxmon?"

Murmuxmon smirked and responded, "The right opportunity. You know that there's a dead zone in the Poke-World, a perfect place to conquer, but to be able to go there, I must be able to feed off of someone else's darkness."

Magnatar frowned and thought for a minute, but then he blinked. "Wait… didn't you take someone for the purpose of draining his dark energy?" Murmuxmon nodded. "I did… but unfortunately, the father is off somewhere probably being tortured, and the kid I accidentally drained of all his darkness…"

Magnatar frowned again and he thought some more. "You know, there are some humans which probably harbor as much darkness as the two of them did." Murmuxmon looked at Magnatar with clear interest on his face. He asked curiously, "Did you have an idea in mind, my servant?"

Magnatar looked visibly displeased that Murmuxmon used that terminology to describe him, but he lived with it. "Well, I had one idea…" Magnatar smirked evilly as he said, "There is a man in the Kanto region who was a leader of a powerful criminal organization… he now sits in prison, but he hasn't changed a bit. I'm sure if we could get him out, we could get him to pay us back somehow…"

Murmuxmon blinked at the idea, and then he smirked, which then "matured" into an evil grin followed by some evil laughter. "Soon, I think it's time we paid a certain criminal a visit…" Magnatar and Murmuxmon laughed maniacally together.

Next Episode: The house of tricks and treats dares to puzzle our heroes! But at the end of the tunnel lies an extremely rare and powerful Pokemon. Who will lay claim to this new creature, and who will just end up all wet? And what do Murmuxmon and Magnatar have in store? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	28. Ep 27: International House of Tricks

Digicross Advanced Episode 27: "International House of Tricks"

Episode Written by Ninetalesuk

Editor's Note: Yes, this does mark the first time that someone other than I have written two episodes in a row. Get over it. Just kidding… - Josh

Narrator: "Today, we find our heroes at the north end of Slateport City, as they begin to make plans for their next Gym Battle in Mauville City."

Ryo turned to Josh, "What does the book say for our next Gym?"

Josh pulled out his trusty Guidebook. "Hmmm... according to this, Wattson of the Mauville Gym uses Electric-type Pokemon, so using a Ground-type Pokemon would be ideal."

They would have discussed the issue further, but Kyle interrupted them. "Hey, what's that big house?"

The other Destined turned to see a pretty large house in front of them, along with a sign that says the following:

'Tricky, Trick Trick Trick, Tricky Tricky House!'

"I think this is called the Trick House..." Casey said.

Kyle sweatdropped. "Oh gee... what gives you that idea...?"

"Do you think we should check it out?" Josh asked. "We are not in too much a hurry to get to Mauville City, are we?"

Ryo nodded. "Sure... why not? What'sthe worst that canhappen...?"

Oh ye of little faith...

Inside the building were four different doors. There is a sign that says 'Choose one or lose one. If there is four of you, don't worry about getting separated. Your goals are all the same. Think of this as a contest and there is a prize at the end, which there is, by the way...'

Casey smiled. "Oh, that's cool! I wonder what sort of prizeit wouldbe..."

Kyle squinted his eyes at the sign. "Wait... there is more..."

'Ooo, eee, ooo ahh ahh! Ting tang, walla walla bing bang! Ooo, eee, ooo ahh ahh ting tang, walla walla bing bang! Ooo, eee, ooo ahh ahh! Ting tang, walla walla bing bang! Ooo, eee, ooo ahh ahh ting tang, walla walla bing bang!'

That caused the four Digidestined to sweatdrop. "OK... What kind of drugs was this guy on...?" Josh asked.

"Wait... there is more..." Kyle said.

Casey groaned. "Oh no..."

'The Prizes vary every week depending on how I feel. This week's first prize is... A BELDUM!'

Ryo gasped. "A Beldum?"

"A Beldum?" Kyle added.

Josh was grinning. "A Beldum..."

Casey, however, frowned. "Why would we need a dumb bell? We already have one of those..." As she looks to Josh.

Josh was seething while the other two sweatdropped and looked at Casey. Ryo sighed. "It's a Pokemon, Casey... A rare one in fact. It's a combination of Psychic and Steel. Classified as the Iron Ball Pokemon."

"Steel and Psychic, eh...?" Casey mused.

Ryo nodded. "Yeah... however, it only knows one move which is Take Down... On the upside, it'll learn more moves once it's evolved."

Josh had a huge grin. "Beldum's final evolved form is one of the coolest Pokemon I've ever seen! I gotta get him!"

Kyle smirked. "Better choose the right door because if either one of us wins, the winner will get Beldum!"

"Having a Pokemon that rare would be perfect for my team..." Ryo mused.

"I agree..." Casey said.

Josh nodded. "OK... Pick your door and prepare to race!"

The other three nodded and each took a door that has each has a colour and a number. Kyle chose a red door with the number 1, Casey chose a green door with the number 2, Ryo chose a purple door with the number 3 and Josh chose a blue door with the number 4.

Kyle had a grin. "Ready..."

"Set..." Casey added.

"GO!" Josh yelled out and all the Digidestined whipped their doors open and ran in, slamming it behind them.

However, if they looked behind the sign, they would have noticed some more writing. 'The numbers on the doors is how much trouble your going to go through. Door 4 is timid, door 3 is lively, door 2 is fun fun fun! And door 1 is... AWOOGAH! AWOOGAH! STAY BACK! STAY BACK! ENTER AND I'LL NEVER, EVER PAY FOR YOUR FUNERAL! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED... Thank you for taking you time reading this. ... Suckers.'

Walking through the corridors, Kyle had a confident grin on his face. "This is perfect! I'll be getting a new Pokemon sooner rather than later!" He then frowned. "Wonder why they call this the Trick House...?" He then shrugged. "That guy must need to have his head checked... I can't see any trickery here..." And then, he continued to walk with confidence. "Well, nothing is gonna stop me! Not even that rabid Suicune up ahead!"

It took a moment to figure out what he just said. Rabid Suicune... he stared ahead to see a legendary Suicune with foam in its mouth and psychotic look in its eyes. Kyle took a moment before he backed away.

"OK... Let me see the situation here... I'm in a corridor with a crazy legendary Pokemon right in front of me... what do you do when you see a Suicune looking like that...? Fight or run...?" Kyle muttered. After a few moments, he came to a conclusion. "I SHOULD RU... Huh...?"

He just noticed a few strange things about the rabid Suicune. First of all, it hadn't moved an inch. Second of all, therewas no shadow underneath the beautiful, yet scary-looking creature and third of all, the body started to fizzle as ifit was an image. After a few seconds, the rabid Suicune was gone.

It took a few moments for Kyle to figure out what just happened. "An image... I freaked out over an image...? Oh brother..."

Casey's task through the corridor was very different. She finds herself standing near a lake-like area with a bridge over it. She noted that she would have to cross it if she wanted to win the Pokemon.

"Here I go..." Casey said when she took a step on the bridge... and went through it and fall into the lake. "WAH!"

Seems she fell, literally, through a holographic bridge and now has to swim across the pool and onto dry land, continuing her journey as a drip.

And in case you're wondering, she is fuming as she got out. "When I get my hands on that clown, he is so going to regret this..."

For Ryo, it looks easy for him. He walked through another corridor and came across to a rope hanging on the ceiling. On it was a note saying 'To continue, pull this.'

Curious, Ryo took the rope, pulled it and...

(SPLAT!)

A pie came out of no where and made a loud, wet splat against his face. After a few moments, Ryo wiped it off and continued to walk down the corridor. "I hate orange pie..."

And as for Josh, he walked through a corridor that doesn't have any tricks or traps set for him. He frowned and held his hands behind his head. "This is too easy..."

Indeed as the owner had forgotten to put tricks in corridor 4... the twit. So that meant it would be easy for Josh to journey through the corridors and out to victory. Gee... all those tricks for everyone else, and hegot a free trip? Someone was gonna get a visit from three rather annoyed people pretty soon.

Back with Kyle, he soon calmed himself down and continued his journey through the corridor. "OK... OK... I've been tricked and it's understandable... this is the Trick House... so, I must make sure I'll never fall for a silly trick like that again."

He came to a stop when he saw a Machoke standing nearby with his mouth foaming. Kyle stared at it before he shook his head. "Oh come on... there is an old saying. Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me! There is no way I'm gonna fall for a holographic rabid Machoke!"

And with that, Kyle stared his dramatic walk towards Machoke, intending to go straight through him... instead he bumped into the rabid Machoke... and noticed that there was a shadow underneath the psychotic Pokemon. "Oh nuts..."

The Machoke cracked his knuckles. "Machoke..."

With a scream that rivaled a scared little girl, Kyle bolted past the rabid Machoke and continued running down the corridor. The Machoke laughed and wiped the foam off his mouth before picking up a spray can, shaking it and spraying white shaving foam over his mouth.

Casey came to a stop as she tapped her foot, looking annoyed. She has come across to a waterfall and it looks like she has to go through it if she wants to continue down the passageway. She recalled the holographic bridge and smiled. "The waterfall is just an image... I can go through it easily..."

And she stepped into the waterfall... SPLASH! ...and walked down the corridor, even wetter. Casey was clenching her teeth and wringing her hands in pure anger. "I am so gonna kill this jerk..."

Josh finally reached the exit and walked through it to enter a large room. He turned around to see a few more doors, four of them which has the numbers. "Did... I win...?"

That was when a huge alarm call was heard. "WHOOP! WHOOP! YES, YOUNG LAD! YOU'VE WON MY TRICK HOUSE CHALLENGE! AS A PRIZE, YOU SHALL RECIEVE THE LEGENDARY BELDUM TO ADD IN YOUR POKEMON TRAINING COLLECTION! WHOOP! WHOOP!"

That brought a big grin onto Josh's face. "Oh yeah! I WON!"

Then, Ryo's voice was heard. "Congratulations, man..."

"Thanks... Ryo...?" Josh said, whirling around and blinking rapidly. "Erm... Ryo...? What happened to you...?"

Ryo was standing at the doorway of the corridor he went through, covered up with different flavours of pies including apple, blackcurrant and meat pies. "Oh nothing... just has some problems with the corridor I chose..."

"Really? Nothing happened to me..." Josh said.

"Well... LUCKY YOU!" Screamed a dripping-wet Casey as she came into the room. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY WATERFALLS, WATER POKEMON AND LAKES I HAD TO GET THROUGH IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF THAT CORRIDOR! FORGET TRICK HOUSE, MORE LIKE WATER HOUSE!"

Josh sweatdropped. "OK, Casey... stop being a drip..."

Casey fumed. "SHUT UP!" She whirled around to see Kyle coming out of his corridor area. She gasped at the state Kyle is in. "K...Kyle...?"

Kyle was shaking all over, stuttering and gasping for air as a look of fear came into his eyes. "H-H-H-H-Hi, guys..."

"Kyle, what in the world happened to you?" Ryo asked, running up to his friend. "It looks like you've seen a ghost..."

"A-A-A-A-At least it w-w-w-w-wasn't r-r-r-rabid or a P-P-P-Pokemon..." Kyle stuttered.

Confused, Josh walked up to Kyle. "Rabid and Pokemon...? Kyle, what are you talking about...?"

That was when Kyle snapped. "THERE ARE PSYCHOTIC POKEMON LOOSE IN THAT CORRIDOR! FIRST A HOLOGRAPHIC SUICUNE, THEN A REAL, LIVE RABID MACHOKE WITH HIS MOUTH FULL OF FOAM AND MOMENTS BEFORE I CAME OUT, I SPOTTED A NURSE JOY GONE PSYCHO! SHE HAD A HOCKEY MASK ON AND WAS SWINGING A BIG KNIFE!"

(WHAM!)

Josh and Ryo sweatdropped as Kyle rubbed his head from Casey's bashing. She was rubbing her fist with an annoyed look. "Listen, you wacko... This is a Trick House... they put up tricks and traps to fool us! Ryo had some pie problems, I had water problems and now, you have psycho problems... Only Josh survived..."

"Yeah... I wonder why..." Josh muttered.

It was then a huge monitor was lowered from the ceiling and a man's face with a brown moustache appeared on-screen. "Hello, children. I must congratulate the winner! Please step forward..."

Before Josh could walk forward, Casey stepped up and pushed him away with an angry look. "HOLD THE TRAIN! YOU'RE THE GUY WHO SET THIS PLACE UP!"

"That is correct, I am Mr Tricky." Said the man.

Sweatdrop from Ryo. "Gee... original name..."

Mr Tricky chuckled. "Yes, isn't it so?"

Kyle was the same as Casey, fuming with rage. "WHY DID YOU HAVE PSYCHOTIC POKEMON AND A PSYCHO NURSE JOY ROAMING IN THAT CORRIDOR!"

"Well, it wasn't my fault you took the advanced level. Taking Door No 1 means you want to take a challenge and go through scary and insane things. Door No 4 means a newbie..." Mr Tricky explained with a proud look.

Ryo blinked. "Huh...? Why do you say that? Josh took that corridor and didn't came across one single trick..."

Mr Tricky blushed. "Well... it's because I forgot to put tricks in there..."

While Josh, Ryo and Casey sweatdropped at that, Kyle continued to yell. "YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION! WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE INSANE POKEMON FROM!"

"How do you mean...? After my rabid Suicune image went off, I figured you would know that some of them are holograms while my Machoke is real... making you think about whetherthese things are real or not." Mr Tricky said. "Everything you've seen in thereare just holograms."

Kyle started to calm down a little. "But... what about Machoke...?"

Mr Tricky laughed. "Oh...he's real all right... but, don't worry... he is perfectly normal. He was just wearing shaving foam around his mouth."

Kyle's jaw dropped. "SHAVING FOAM!"

Josh and Ryo were busy laughing while Casey grinned. "Looks like out of all of us... Kylewas the only one that was affected."

Mr Tricky nodded. "Yes, I totally agree. Anyway, will the winner please step forward to receive his prize... a Beldum!"

A small claw came out from underneath the monitor and brought out a normal Poke-Ball. It opened up and out came a strange blue creature with a single red eye. "Beldum..."

"THAT is Beldum...? I got soaked for a Pokemon like that?" Casey asked.

Ryo chuckled. "Once Josh raises it well, it'll be a powerful Pokemon."

Kyle sighed. He is finally calm. "I agree..."

"So do I... Congratulations, Josh..." Came a familiar voice.

The group whirled around and gasped. There was Trey standing at the doorway of the forth corridor with his arms crossed. "TREY!"

"A friend of yours?" Mr Tricky asked.

Casey scoffed. "Hardly..."

Then, Ryo noticed something different. "Hey... Where is Dakarimon? And Team Rocket...?"

His answer came as the third corridor opened up and Dakarimon entered, carrying some pies. "Here I am... Boy, I'm so hungry!" Then, he started to eat one of the pies.

Trey sighed. "Dakarimon... how many times do I have to tell you... don't eat while we're working. Come to think of it, I'm amazed this guy has so many pies."

Kyle blinked. "Wait... you knew...? You knew the Tricky levels that this place has...?"

"Of course... it was written on the back of the sign... right before the entrance of the four doors. Why? Didn't you notice that?" Trey asked.

"Of course not... if we did... I WOULDN'T BE TAKING SWIMMING LESSONS!" Casey yelled out.

Shaking his head, Trey looked up at Mr Tricky's monitor. "Anyway, how much were those pies? I mean, you didn't steal them, did you?"

Mr Tricky shook his head. "Nope... I got them for free."

"How?" Josh asked.

"Nearby supermarkets gave them to me because most of them are out-of-date and also give me fresh ones for being a brave man for taking them." Mr Tricky said. "I used fresh ones on that kid and placed out-of-dates ones that your little friend is eating right now."

Trey groaned. "Dakarimon..."

For the moment, Dakarimon has become Greenarimon. He held his mouth and ran out of the room. "Excuse me... I'm gonna use the little mon's room..."

The Digidestined sweatdropped before Kyle asked. "And Team Rocket...?"

"Took Door No 1." Trey simply said.

Kyle sweatdropped. "Oh boy..."

The first door opened up and out came the three stooges of Team Rocket. Jessie, James and Meowth. They were shaking like crazy.

"R-R-R-R-Rabid Suicune..." Jessie stuttered.

"R-R-R-R-Rabid Machoke..." James gulped.

"R-R-R-R-Rabid Nurse Joy..." Meowth added.

Then, they all screamed together. "WHAT SORT OF PLACE IS THIS!"

"Good question..." Kyle muttered.

Meowth perked up. "L-L-L-Look! I-I-I-It's the twerps! H-H-Hit it with the motto!"

"O-O-Okay! P-P-Prepare for t-t-t-t-trouble..." Jessie started.

"A-A-A-And make it d-d-d-d-double..." James added.

Sweatdropping, Trey brought out a small device. "I think we can fast forward through this..." And he pressed the button on the left.

"TTTTTToprotectthewwwworldfromdddddevasation!" Said Jessie quickly.

"TTTTTTuniteallpeopleswithinoooournnnnation!" Added James.

"TTTTTTTTdenouncetheeeeevilsofttttruthandllllove!"

"TTTTToextendoooourreachtothessssstarsabove!"

"JJJJJJJJessie!"

"JJJJJJJJames!"

"TTTTTTTTTeamRRRRRocket,bbbbblastingoffatthessssssspeedoflight!"

"SSSSSSurrendernowooooorpreparetoffffffight!"

"MMMMMMMMeowth,that'srrrrright!" Meowth chimed in.

Trey smirked as he pressed the button. "Right, that's done..."

"First time I found the motto amusing..." Ryo said.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah..."

Jessie was busy panting and puffing. "Air... air... air..."

"I feel exhausted..." James said, falling to the ground. "I think I bit my tongue..."

"Glad you gave us the speed program, Trey... I feel much better now." Meowth said.

"Good... At least you're not moaning over a rabid Nurse Joy..." Casey muttered.

Then, someone screamed. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Casey sweatdropped and whacked Kyle on the head. "Zip it..."

Jessie shook her head. "Anyway... we came here to collect that cute little Beldummy and add it to our collection. Where is it?"

"It's right here but, it's already got a trainer now." Said Mr Tricky. "This lad right here has won the challenge and will now have rights to have one."

Josh nodded as he patted the happy Beldum on the head. "Yep, sorry 'bout that..."

However, Jessie wasn't going to let this go. "That's what you think! I'm gonna get that Beldummy as part of my team!"

"Why are you calling Beldum, Beldummy...?" Kyle asked.

Trey sighed. "She thinks it would be a perfect petname for Beldum..."

Jessie nodded. "That's right... when I steal that Pokemon off you, Beldummy would be... AHHH!"

(CRASH!)

Everyone stood in shock as Beldum ran into Jessie and rammed her out of the house and into the distance. All except Mr Tricky, who just sighed.

"I should warn you that this Beldum doesn't like to be given nicknames or petnames for some reason." Mr Tricky said.

Ryo nodded slowly. "O...K... Thanks for the warning..."

Sighing, Trey turned to James and Meowth. "It's no use... you two are in no condition to battle... and besides, it'll turn out the same as always..."

"You're right..." James sighed.

Meowth glared at the Digidestined. "You're lucky you got away this time, you twerps! But, we won't be so easy on yer!"

Trey rolled his eyes. "Oh... I'm sure you got them quaking in their shoes... Now, come on! Let's get Dakarimon and find Jessie..."

As Beldum went back to his new trainer's side, the Digidestined watched as Team Rocket left with small sweatdrops on the back of their heads.

"Well... this was fun..." Ryo muttered.

Josh nodded slowly before he smiled. "Well... at least I got a new Pokemon... and we had fun, didn't we...?"

"Speak for yourself... It's like I did something wrong and somebody was out to get revenge on me." Said Kyle.

Casey nodded. "Ditto."

Mr Tricky laughed. "Well, I thank you for coming into the Trick House. Good luck with your journey, young Trainers." And the monitor went off.

"Well, let's head to the next town, you guys!" Josh said, returning Beldum into its Poke-Ball and walked out of the door to outside.

"I'm with you!" Ryo said.

Both Casey and Kyle nodded as they followed their friends outside. Another 'adventure' was over and they all know that there will be a new one over the hills.

Meanwhile...

Jessie was hanging on a tree, upside down. She wasn't happy. "Oh... that Beldum... He is no longer a perfect Pokemon in my books... Oh, I wish I had a new Pokemon..."

That was when she looked down and saw a wooden crate. And a familiar brown, six-tailed fox was poking it's little head through a hole and checking out it's contents.

That is when Jessie's eyes sparkled with delight. "Oh... it's a pretty Vulpix! I'll catch that darling little Pokemon! Oh, Vulpix..."

The wild Vulpix pulled its head out and turnedin thedirectionof Jessie. She froze in fear when she saw that the Fox Pokemon had white foam around its mouth.

Jessie's right eye twitched. "A... psycho... Vulpix... HHHHHHEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPP! SAVE ME FROM THAT RABID VULPIX! HELP!"

"Vul...?" The Vulpix was confused.

Trey, Darkarimon, James and Meowth were nearby and all sweatdropped at Jessie. After a while, Darkarimon finally spoke up. "So... should we tell her...?"

"That the foam around Vulpix's mouth is whipped cream and that box contains cans of it and was left behind by a plane crash a few months ago...?" Meowth asked. "Nah... let's not."

"Never knew her voice was that powerful..." Trey said, rubbing his ears.

James sighed. "I did..."

Jessie continued to scream. "HHHHHEEEEELLLPPPPP!"

Vulpix wondered why the human with the big red hair was freaking out, but sometimes it was better not to know...

Narrator: "And so, thanks to some great luck on his part, Josh managed to obtain the rare, if finicky, Pokemon, Beldum. And while Josh is thrilled to have his fourth Pokemon on his team, one of the trainers is still short. Will the one of the Digidestined be forced to sit out the next Gym Battle? Find out next time!"

Next time: One of the Digidestined gets desperate to obtain their third Pokemon, which is highly coveted by several parties. Will he or she have the moxy and the gusto to obtain that third Pokemon? Find out on the next episode of Digicross Advanced!


	29. Ep 28: An Electrike Fight

Digicross Advanced Episode 28: "An Electrike Fight"

Episode Written by Josh Johannesen

Narrator: "As we join our heroes, we find them approaching Mauville City, home of their third Gym, the Gym of Wattson. However, not all is well, as one Digidestined Trainer is discovering that she doesn't have what it takes to challenge the Gym Leader…"

"AHHHHHHHH! I don't have enough Pokemon!"

"Calm down! We've still got time before we arrive in Mauville City!"

"I know that, but what if I can't catch another Pokemon!"

"I don't think you'll have that problem, Casey."

The camera pans out to see that Casey is the one who is breathing heavily and is in a complete and total panic.

"I know that, but what if I don't!" Casey yelled.

"You could always borrow one of mine…" Josh said in a voice which suggested that if Josh did this favor for Casey, she would owe him big-time.

Casey glared at Josh and yelled, "Like I would ever stoop to borrowing from YOU!"

Josh breathed a fake sigh. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when you don't catch a Pokemon and are forced to sit out the next Gym Battle…"

Casey just got angrier at Josh's comment and threatened to smack Josh upside the head, but that's when she saw it. A small green and yellow Pokemon streaked by right behind Josh.

"What was that?" Casey asked. Everyone looked to where Casey was looking, only to find no Pokemon there.

Kyle sweatdropped, "She's so desperate to catch a Pokemon, she's starting to see things."

Casey would have smacked Kyle, but she was still looking for the streak she saw a few moments ago.

The problem was that the Pokemon Casey had seen was exceptionally short in stature, so it blended in with the grass pretty well. For the next few minutes, Casey scanned the nearby grasses, trying to find the Pokemon she had seen.

Finally, the Pokemon in question came leaping out of the grass and into the open field. The Pokemon then turned on the group of Digidestined trainers standing there.

Casey couldn't help but love the Pokemon that had jumped out of the bushes. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't the only one who liked the looks of this Pokemon…

"What a cool Pokemon!" Josh and Casey yelled out simultaneously. However, as soon as they heard each other say that, they both gave a "hmph" and turned their backs on one another.

Kyle and Ryo could not have been less surprised by this turn of events. Ryo got an idea, "Maybe the Pokedex can shed some light on what kind of Pokemon this is…"

"Electrike, the Lightning Pokemon. It generates electricity using friction from the atmosphere. When the air is especially arid, its entire body gives off violent showers of sparks."

Casey immediately got very excited. "That must be an electric Pokemon, just like the mascot of the Electabuzz!"

Everyone sweatdropped at the obviousness of Casey's last statement. "Could you have made a more obvious statement, Casey?" Josh asked with a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Casey just glared at Josh. Unfortunately for her, she glared just long enough for Electrike to dart back into the bushes. By the time Casey looked back toward the Electrike, it was already gone.

She grew an anger vein, and turned around and smacked Josh and pushed him down to the ground. "Great job, you jerk! Now look what you made me do!"

Josh and Casey began to argue with one another about "that stupid Electrike", causing Kyle and Ryo to both sweatdrop greatly. They had never seen Josh and Casey argue with this intensity before.

Josh yelled, "I'll prove I'm the better trainer by capturing Electrike before you do, Casey!"

Casey yelled back, "We'll just see about that, Josh! I'll hit a home run long before you ever round first base!"

It had been quite some time since Casey had used a baseball analogy, so it caught Kyle and Ryo off-guard. Josh was too focused on catching Electrike to care. But what none of them knew is that someone else was also interested in catching Electrike…

"I've never seen the two of them argue so intensely…" Jessie observed.

"And over a Pokemon too." James noted.

"A Pokemon you three are going to try to catch." Trey's voice came from behind James, Jessie and Meowth.

The three Rocket-flops turned around and looked at Trey. "Why do we care about dat Electrike fellow?"

Trey smirked evilly, "Because they care about it too, you three. Don't you want to get better than they are?"

The three Rocket-flops nodded their heads quickly.

Trey said, "Then you have to take every opportunity to improve yourselves, even if it doesn't make any sense."

Dakarimon added, "In other words, you need to try and catch that Electrike before they do."

With that, the three Rocket-flops went into thought, trying to come up with a half-ways decent trap.

Trey could see it right away. He knew that the Rocket-flops had been nothing but trap layers since Day One. "Are you three going to lay another trap?"

Jessie nodded. "Of course."

James added, "How else are we going to catch that Electrike before they do?"

Dakarimon and Trey shook their heads in minor disgust. "There are ways of catching a Pokemon before someone does without needing to trap them." Dakarimon observed.

All three Rocket-flops looked confused, causing Trey to sigh. "Look, if you're going to go ahead with a trap, then let's at least set a few ground rules so you don't end up resorting to doing the same old thing."

Jessie, James and Meowth listened intently. "Number One: You must not use a pit trap." Trey said.

The three Rockets cringed at this, the pit trap having been their bread and butter for many a year. "Number Two: You must not use any nets or tie them up in any way."

James observed, "That pretty much takes care of all of the old traps."

Jessie asked, "Then what can we do that won't fall under those categories?"

What followed was a brainstorming session in which nobody came up with a decent trap.

Trey and Dakarimon sighed, but realistically, they were having a somewhat hard time coming up with a decent trap which followed their own rules. After a couple of minutes, Trey notices the nearby forest and comes up with a great plan. "I've got it!" he exclaimed.

With that he brought together the Rocket-flops in a huddle and began to discuss a plan to trap the Digidestined so that they couldn't escape…

Meanwhile, Casey and Josh were both searching for the Electrike in the tall grasses while Ryo and Kyle trailed behind slightly, wondering what the big deal was. Kyle wondered why Josh had decided to go after Electrike when he knew that Casey needed the Pokemon the most.

As both Josh and Casey continued the frantic search for the Electrike, they approached a small forest which was perfect for a small green Pokemon like Electrike to hide in. And as luck would have it, they saw the tiny Electrike enter the forest, making Josh and Casey groan, mostly because it would be a lot harder to find it in a dark forest.

But, in the pursuit of Electrike, they needed to enter the forest and hope one of them found it before someone or something found them. Josh and Casey tore into the forest with Kyle and Ryo following closely behind.

The forest was dark, damp, and had a lot of greenery in it, a perfect place for an unwilling Electrike to hide from prospective Trainers.

Josh observed, "Wow, this place is dark."

Everyone sweatdropped. "Gee, how long did it take you to figure that one out, bonehead?" Casey asked candidly.

Josh resisted the urge to smack her upside the head and just kept up the search for the Electrike they saw earlier… or really any Electrike at all.

Not more than 5 minutes into the forest though, they were confronted by a very familiar Pokemon… along with a very familiar team.

The four of them stopped cold when they saw the three white-shirted trainers along with one of their Pokemon, Dustox.

Ryo yelled out, "Team Rocket! What are you doing here?"

Jessie laughed. "What do you think, twerp? We're here to stop you from catching that Electrike!"

Casey yelled, "Why! Electrike never did anything to you three!"

Jessie spoke up. "Do we really need a reason to clash with you twerps?"

And with that, the Destined reached for their Poke Balls, ready to fight. However, Jessie had other ideas. "Dustox, use Sleep Powder!"

As the bug's blue powder spread quickly, the Rockets put on masks to protect themselves. Unfortunately, the Destined didn't have such a luxury, and so before they could pull out their Pokemon to counter, each and every one of them fell asleep on the spot.

Team Rocket began to laugh manically, figuring that finally one of their plans had worked to perfection, but they were only halfway done, as now they had to carry the Destined to their new home…

10 Minutes Later, about 500 feet away-

Team Rocket had stripped all of the Destined children's belongings off of them, leaving the bags about 15 feet away from the Destined, as they were.

James suddenly called out, "Let it rip, Trey!"

Trey sent Aggron out and ordered him to dig and dig and dig and dig a giant pit around the trainers who were about to become hopelessly trapped. Fortunately, Dustox remained above the Digidestined, continuing to spread Sleep Powder to keep them in Dreamland while Aggron did his very noisy work.

Team Rocket watched happily as Trey's plan was coming to fruition. Aggron left enough room for the Digidestined to lie on, and that was it. Team Rocket thought that this was going to be a relatively uncomfortable experience for the rest of their lives, especially with absolutely nothing to get them out of the trap.

When Aggron finished with the construction project, Trey recalled him as Jessie recalled Dustox. Then they admired their work. A 10 foot canyon which was 20 feet deep now surrounded an island which was not more than 4 feet in diameter. All of the Destined children's belongings were on the far side of the canyon, meaning that they had no chance to escape.

Jessie, James and Meowth walked off toward the forest. "We're going to go catch that Electrike now, Trey."

Trey yelled to them, "I'll be with you folks in a minute. I've just got some minor clean-up to do and we'll be with you shortly."

The three Rockets could have cared less. Trey had concocted the perfect trap to get those pesky twerps out of their way for good. They were so confident, in fact, that they left behind the packs and Poke Balls of the Digidestined.

About fifteen minutes later, the Digidestined woke up with general headaches mostly from hitting their heads on the ground hard when they fell asleep at the wings of Dustox and its Sleep Powder. It would take a minute for the children's visions to come into focus, but when they did, all four of them yelled the same thing, "HELP! GET US OUT OF HERE!"

Deep within the forest, the three Rockets could hear the screams of terror of the twerps and they high-fived one another in celebration of their perfect trap.

Back at the "island", Ryo, Josh, Kyle and Casey were in a general state of panic.

Ryo yelled, "How in the world did we end up right here!"

Casey yelled, "How should I know!"

Kyle said calmly, "The last thing I remember is being faced with Team Rocket and dealing with Jessie's Dustox."

Then it hit Josh like a sack of manure. "We somehow ended up here after falling asleep because of Dustox's Sleep Powder!"

Casey glared at Josh. "You do realize this is your entire fault, don't you?"

Josh glared right back at Casey. "How do you figure that, pinhead?"

Before Casey could answer that question, Kyle stepped in between Josh and Casey. "Come on, you two! We should be spending our energy trying to figure out how to get out of this trap, not arguing with one another."

Josh and Casey both yelled at Kyle, "Keep out of this!"

Ryo then took what one might call extreme measures, grabbing Josh and covering his mouth shut. Kyle quickly followed suit with Casey. Ryo said, "Josh, Casey, this isn't helping anyone out. Kyle is right. We need to be concentrating on getting out of here."

It took a couple of minutes, but Josh and Casey calmed down to the point where they could tolerate being next to one another.

It is not long after this that Kyle comes up with the idea to use their Pokemon to bail them out of this situation. Unfortunately, the horror of horrors soon befell them as they discovered that each and every one of their Pokemon had been pilfered.

Casey cried out a very shrill scream as she realized that every last one of her Pokemon had been stolen, including Aquaris, whom she had fought so hard to get back just a matter of days ago. And then she just started to outright cry. "This isn't fair. It just isn't! We work so hard to obtain our Pokemon and then morons like those three come around and steal our companions and partners right out from under our noses!"

Ryo was the first to try and cheer her up, while Josh and Kyle thought of another way to get out. It was at about this time that they realized that their packs with all of their emergency supplies had also been taken off their persons, making things that much more difficult.

Kyle, looking all around for anything Team Rocket might have left out, eventually points out to everyone that their packs are on the "far side" of the canyon, which is, of course, very bad news, since the canyon was 10 feet wide by 20 feet deep, making it impossible to jump across.

It seemed to the Digidestined that Team Rocket had left absolutely nothing to chance and they were perfectly trapped. However, the Rocket-flops had left something out of the equation…

A short distance away in a bush, Trey and Dakarimon were watching the Digidestined trainers. "Do you think we should go ahead and bail them out now, Dakarimon?" Trey asked.

Dakarimon shrugged. "If you want to take pity on them, then go right on ahead. I'm not going to stop you."

Trey took that as a yes, and so stepped out of the bushes with Dakarimon trailing close behind. He wanted to make it seem like they had only just arrived on the scene, as if Team Rocket had come up with this plot and executed it on their own.

Ryo was the first to see Trey out of the corner of his eye and immediately, he called to Team Rocket's "meal ticket". This caught everyone else's attention and they called out to Trey, almost to the point of begging him, to break them out of the trap.

Since Trey didn't want the Digidestined to be trapped for the rest of their days, he obliged them. How, you might ask? Simple; he called out Lapras, despite the fact that there was absolutely no water in the canyon.

Casey yelled out, "What good is that supposed to do for us? There's no water in this canyon!"

Trey smiled knowingly and yelled, "Lapras, use Ice Beam to form an ice bridge to the other side of the canyon!"

Lapras was more than happy to fire an Ice Beam across the canyon, reaching the other side and allowing the Digidestined a chance to cross over. Of course, because of the fact that it was ice, they were a bit hesitant because of the fact that if they fell, chances were serious injury would soon follow.

To help alleviate those fears, Trey had Lapras create little walls to keep them from sliding off the bridge to the left or right and into the canyon.

And of course, Trey assured them that they weren't likely to fall to the left or right because of the walls and because inertia would likely just cause them to go the rest of the way across the bridge.

Since nobody else was really willing to give it a try, Ryo was the first to try and move slowly across the ice bridge. He moved cautiously across the bridge, trying his best not to slip and fall. And he made it about halfway across the bridge before he finally did fall. What occurred next was exactly as Trey Miller had predicted it would. Ryo slid the rest of the way across the bridge and ended up on the other side.

With the bravest of the Digidestined having made the crossing, Ryo now began to yell across for the others to begin their own crossings. Josh was next to cross, but only because he wanted to get as far away from Casey as he could. When Josh inevitably fell, Casey laughed at him out loud… at least until he too slipped and slid to the other side of the canyon. Then it was Josh's turn to laugh as he went and started retrieving their bags and Pokemon.

Kyle crossed over next, and he would have made it across on his feet… were it not for the fact that the Ice Beam Bridge began to melt, forcing Casey to move it across the bridge quickly and bump into the back of Kyle Evanick, causing them both to fall and slide to the other side just as the bridge melted entirely. Both Kyle and Casey breathed massive sighs of relief as they went over to retrieve their stuff. Everyone poured extraordinary amounts of thanks onto Trey, and he almost blushed from all the praise he was receiving.

Trey turned away from the Destined. "Well, I've got to go find my 'charges'."

Dakarimon added, "They're going to get upset if we're gone for too long."

With that, the Destined thanked Trey and Dakarimon for their help and took off into the forest.

Meanwhile, in the forest-

Jessie, James and Meowth continued their search for Electrike, but they weren't running or panicking or doing any of the things they would normally be doing around this time. The biggest reason for this was the fact that they still thought the twerps were completely and totally trapped with no possibility for escape.

"Are you two sure we ain't forgettin' sometin?" Meowth asked.

Jessie held her head high and responded, "Of course not! Trey used Aggron and trapped them on an island in the middle of a canyon! What could go wrong?"

James answered, "Some freak storm filling up the canyon and allowing the twerps to swim across?"

Jessie quickly dismissed the theory. "You two worry too much. Let's just keep looking for that Electrike. The sooner we find it, the sooner we can gain favor with Trey and Dakarimon."

Of course, they had forgotten something pretty big… The three of them had set up an alternate trap just in case Dustox couldn't do the job properly, and they were about to walk right into it…

Up ahead of them, Team Rocket's path looked rather clear, but suddenly, a few Spinarak came out of nowhere, freaking out the three Rocket-flops. The three Spinarak each use String Shot and tie up the Rocket's hands at their sides.

"What in the world…?" James asked.

They were about to get their answer as suddenly the ground gave way underneath them and they each fell into a separate pit. A matter of moments later, a pile of dirt came down on each of them, causing Jessie and James to be "buried" in the ground with only their heads sticking out. Meowth was far too short to be buried in this way, and thus ended up buried underneath a few feet of dirt.

As she struggled against the String Shot, Jessie cried, "Get us out of here now!"

James complained, "We don't deserve to be trapped in our own trap."

Meowth, of course, couldn't be heard because he was literally buried in the ground.

Back with the Digidestined, Josh and Casey continued their pursuit of the Electrike which had eluded them earlier. Of course, they weren't having much luck. Pretty soon, they come upon a fork in the road.

Josh pointed to the left. "I'll be taking this road."

Casey pointed to the right. "And I'll be taking this one."

Ryo and Kyle sweatdropped before Ryo chose to stick with Josh and Kyle with Casey before they got into more trouble.

While Josh and Ryo had little luck on their chosen path, Kyle and Casey encountered a few Pokemon. One of which was indeed the same Electrike all of them had seen outside the forest.

Casey yelled, "Ah ha! I've got you now, Electrike!" She pulled out one of her Poke Balls. "You're the batter, Aquaris!" Kyle sweatdropped at the baseball reference.

The small blue Pokemon came out with a cry. "Mudkip!"

Casey called out, "Mudkip, tackle Electrike now!" Electrike had yet to start paying attention to what was going on around it, and so Mudkip's sudden Tackle caught it off guard.

When Electrike took the hit, it cried out. "Elec!" When it landed, Electrike turned to Mudkip and got into fighting stance almost immediately.

Kyle, meanwhile, looked up his big book of Pokemon and found something very interesting. He looked up and said, "Hey, Casey."

Casey turned to Kyle for a moment, sure Mudkip wouldn't let Electrike get away. "What is it?"

Kyle responded, "Well, Electrike has a unique special ability which allows it to sometimes paralyze Pokemon who attack it directly. You might want to stick with long-range attacks."

Casey smiled and turned back to the battle, which thankfully wasn't over. "Thanks a lot, Kyle. Now we can show Electrike what we're really made of! Use Water Gun now, Aquaris!"

Electrike, meanwhile, was charging up electricity to charge right at Mudkip and use Spark. Unfortunately for it, Aquaris's Water Gun fired right into its face, causing its electricity to begin to short out and start zapping Electrike.

All the while, Electrike cried out in pain. "Elec… trike…" After about 30 seconds of exposure, Electrike fainted on the spot.

Casey instinctively pulled out her Poke-Ball. "Now to secure the game for our team; Poke Ball, go!" She tossed the ball sort of like a pitcher would throw to a catcher… if the pitcher were throwing a slow ball, that is.

The ball hit Electrike and after being pulled into the ball, it began to struggle against the bonds of the Poke Ball. It took another 30 seconds or so, but finally, the red dot turned white and the familiar locking noise can be heard.

As soon as the noise was heard by Casey, she grabbed it and did what seemed to be the obligatory Ash-like pose. "All right! I caught Electrike!"

Aquaris showed her approval and smiled. "Mud, Mudkip!"

Kyle smiled. "Congratulations, Casey!"

Casey recalled Aquaris and turned to Kyle, smiling. "Thanks a lot, Kyle!" Of course, she soon turned ahead and smirked evilly. "I can't wait to show Josh that I caught Electrike and he didn't." Kyle sweatdropped, but was not the least bit surprised.

5 minutes later-

The paths converged and Kyle and Casey could see Josh and Ryo up ahead at the converging point, waiting for them to show up. Casey put on her best triumphant looking face and marched on toward the spot where Josh and Ryo were standing.

Casey called out in a happy tone, "Hey, you two!"

Josh and Ryo turned around to see Casey smiling triumphantly. Almost immediately, Josh figured out what was going on. "You caught Electrike, didn't ya?"

Casey began to laugh mockingly. "That's right. I caught him… and more importantly, you didn't!"

Josh's face turned red with minor frustration. Ryo, however, lit up, "Congrats, Casey. Guess that means you'll be participating in the next Gym Battle after all."

It hadn't even dawned on Casey that she was now able to compete for the next badge due to her capture. And now that Ryo said what he did, she lit up instantly. "That's right! I'll be there to fight in the next Gym Battle, just like the rest of you!" Casey broke into a chorus of the Electabuzz fight song, causing Josh, Ryo and Kyle to all sweatdrop.

Josh was at the same time happy and unhappy for Casey's sudden success. Happy in that he didn't want Casey excluded from the next Gym Battle so they wouldn't have to backtrack later on. Unhappy because Casey was currently his biggest rival and he always wanted to be one step ahead of the competition.

After a couple of minutes of gloating in Josh's face, and another argument between the two, the Digidestined continued down the path which turned to the north toward Mauville City. Not far up the path, however, they would get a pleasant surprise.

When the Digidestined saw Team Rocket buried in the ground with the exception of Jessie's and James's heads, they broke out in pure laughter.

Jessie yelled out, "How dare you laugh at us in our misery!"

James continued, "It's enough to make somebody want to be violent!"

Meowth's voice couldn't be heard very well because of the fact that he was still buried in over 5 feet of soil.

Ryo fired back, "Well, you're the ones who somehow managed to trap yourselves, Team Rocket!"

Casey yelled out, "Yeah! How dare you stick us all up on an island where we have not much chance of escape!"

Kyle was a lot calmer about it. "And in any case, now you're stuck and we're going to leave you right there."

The Digidestined then walked past the heads of Jessie and James as they begged for the children to dig them out of the hole. Of course, Josh fired at them verbally. "You didn't help us when we were trapped, so it's only fair game that we should leave you behind when you get trapped."

The Destined all laugh as they walk out of sight and Team Rocket growls rather verbally.

Of course, the Rocket-flops were going to get their own form of rescue in pretty much the same form as the Destined did minutes before. Trey and Dakarimon came up the path, and when they saw what kind of trouble Team Rocket had gotten themselves into, they both covered their faces with their hands and shook their heads in disgust.

Trey's only question was also a very simple one. "How in the world do you two manage to put yourselves into a bad situation every time we look away?"

Jessie smiled nervously. "We're experts in that department, Trey."

James added, "If there were a degree for failing, we'd already have our PhDs."

Trey and Dakarimon sighed. Trey then turned to Dakarimon. "Would you mind digging them out of their holes, Dakarimon?"

Dakarimon sighed once more. "I don't see what the point is, but if you insist, Trey…"

Dakarimon began to dig frantically around James first, trying to dig enough of him out to where he could dig himself out the rest of the way. Once Dakarimon saw that his hands were tied to his side by a String Shot, he used his naginata to cut James free.

With that having been done, Dakarimon moved on to Jessie. Dakarimon then did much of the same thing to Jessie and cut her loose from the String Shot once he had the opportunity.

Finally, it was Meowth's turn to get freed from his trap. Of course, since Meowth was entirely buried, it was a far tougher task to accomplish.

Trey had an idea, though. "Meowth, yell. Scream. Do anything at all to get Dakarimon's attention and tell him where you are."

Of course, Trey didn't have to tell Meowth twice to yell and scream, and in a matter of moments, Dakarimon had the source of the yelling and screaming pinned down. He then began to dig like there was no tomorrow.

After about 45 seconds of digging, Dakarimon happened to find something shiny sticking out of the ground, along with a pair of pointy ears. Of course, this was Meowth, and so Dakarimon did what he thought would be the least painful… grabbing Meowth by the charm on his head.

Meowth immediately began to voice his displeasure as he was literally plucked from the ground. "Let me go, ya big lummox! It hoits too much… My charm…"

As soon as Meowth was out from underneath the ground, Dakarimon leapt up and placed Meowth on the ground. Dakarimon snarled, "There! You're back on level ground and I let go of your precious charm. Are you happy now!"

Meowth quickly recovered, then looked to Dakarimon and laughed nervously. "Much obliged, pal."

Trey, Jessie and James sweatdropped. Trey was the first to speak up, "Maybe we should get going. We've got a little ways to go before we can take a breather in Mauville City."

Jessie, James and Meowth were quick to agree to Trey's plan, and with Dakarimon at his side, Trey and the Rockets took a "short-cut" to Mauville City.

Meanwhile, the Destined had left the forest behind and were now approaching a sort of underpass in their path.

Everyone, of course, remembered what happened the last time they entered a cave. "Are you sure this is the only way to get to Mauville City?" Ryo asked Josh.

Josh looked around and at his guidebook and then flatly asked Ryo, "Do you see another path around here, Ryo?"

Kyle and Casey sighed. "Guess we have no choice but to go through here." Kyle observed.

Casey added as the Digidestined entered the cave, "I just hope we don't have any more problems with caves like last time…"

Narrator: "And so, despite some problems with an "inescapable" trap and with some assistance from Team Rocket's "meal ticket", Trey, Casey captured her third Pokemon, Electrike, and moved one step closer to the Hoenn League. But now the Digidestined take their Pokemon and their knowledge on to Mauville City!"

Next Time: The Digidestined have a minor encounter in the Route 110 underpass before arriving at Mauville City, home of Wattson, and their third Gym. Will the Digidestined have what it takes to ground the shocking Gym Leader? And will I stop using bad puns? Find out on Episode 29 of Digicross Advanced, written by Trey Miller!


	30. Ep 29: Crossroads of Hoenn, Pt 1

It could, for all purposes, be called a war-zone. One whole city block was leveled; several houses around the city were destroyed; and as if that wasn't enough, it looked like everything was about to hit the fan for the umpteenth time. 

From where he sat on a park bench, Joshua Johannesen found it hard to believe the happenings of the past few days. Though when he thought about it, the signs were there... he had just been too blind to see them.

"Mr. Johannesen?" He winced as he jerked from his stupor and jarred the bandage around his ribs. His eyes traveled to the young officer in front of him.

"Yes, ma'am?"

She blinked at the calmness of his voice but proceeded. "Mr. Johannesen, we're going to need you to give us a report on the happenings leading up to this, please."

He nodded and slid over on the bench to give her room. "I guess the best place to begin would be four days ago, right before we got into town... It was the day that Casey had caught her Electrike and we were on the route here to Mauville..."

fade to black

-  
A FireOne Production:  
Written by: Trey Miller

CoWritten by: Josh Johannesen

Digicross: Advanced, Chapter 29 Crossroads of Hoenn, Part 1

"The Beginning"  
----------

Day One

Casey had let Electrike run around outside of a Pokeball since they'd gotten out of the woods, and since then, the little electric Pokemon had taken a liking to shocking Josh on occasion. This proved to be something that Casey enjoyed watching.

"For crying out loud, Casey! Would you put him in a Pokeball already!" Josh shouted after the 'nth time of being shocked. Well, it's not to say that he hadn't shouted every time before, but he got the same answer as the time before, and the time before, and the time before:

"Why should I? Electrike deserves to be out as much as any other Pokemon!"

At this point, Electrike would yip an excited "Trrike!" and shock Josh again.

Ryo glanced at Kyle who sighed, shook his head, and walked on. Ryo followed as yet another screaming match happened between Josh and Casey.

"Alright Casey, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle, one on one! My Mawile against your Electrike!" shouted Josh.

Casey laughed, "Your Mawile? It wouldn't even stand a chance!"

Josh grabbed the Pokeball and threw it, "Mawile, come out!" With a flash of red light, Mawile, the Deception Pokemon appeared.

Kyle and Ryo stopped and looked back. "This could be troublesome," said Kyle.

"More like a little dangerous," said Ryo. He took off running back to where Josh and Casey were, "C'mon! We've got to stop them!"

Casey glared at Josh, all hints of humor gone from her face. "Fine, I accept! Electrike, let's finish this quickly!" Electrike stepped forward and growled at Mawile, sparks flying off of him.

Mawile had one of the most innocent looks on her face and smiled at Electrike, "Mawile!"

"Quick attack, Electrike!"

"Use Sweet scent, Mawile!"

Electrike blasted forward slamming into Mawile before she had a chance to do anything, but Mawile quickly got back to her feet and smiled at Electrike again before activating her sweet scent move.

Casey shouted, "Don't fall for it, Electrike! Fight it and use Thunder Wave!" Electrike shook his head to clear it and then quickly charged up enough energy to release Thunder Wave.

"Dodge it, Mawile!" Mawile jumped to the side, but still got hit by the attack. "Try Sweet scent once more!"

Mawile tried it once again, and this time, Electrike fell under her spell. Casey shouted for him to break the spell, but Electrike's mind was set. He approached Mawile who continued to look on innocently.

"Now, Mawile! Use Bite!" Mawile's innocent facade quickly vanished and she spun around opening her large jaw and closing them on Electrike's snout.

Electrike's lull of concentration left and he quickly found himself being held onto by a rather large and painful set of jaws. He yelped and fired off a high powered Thunder Wave that blew him and Mawile apart.

"Use Quick Attack again!" Electrike slid to a stop and bolted forward slamming into Mawile who was struggling to get herself balanced. This didn't help one bit. Mawile flew backwards and slammed into the ground and rolled to a stop where she slowly got to her feet, with the help of Josh's encouragement.

"Alright Mawile, use Astonish!" Mawile's eyes began to glow a dark violet color.

"Quick Attack, once more!" Electrike charged forward just as Mawile unleashed her attack. Electrike turned tail still in mid-attack and shot back behind Casey's legs, quivering.

Mawile's innocent facade came back and she smiled at Electrike.

Not even the best of coaxing from Casey would bring the electric dog back to the field, and so Casey was forced to forfeit. She shook her head as she called Electrike into his Pokeball, "I don't know what you did, Josh, but congratulations."

Josh grinned, "Thanks. Your Electrike isn't that bad in all honesty." His grin vanished, "Come to think of it, I doubt it would have been very good with me."

Kyle and Ryo stopped and breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, the 'twins' had came to a decision, and the possibility of a war was over- for now.

"Do you two mind if we get back on track?" asked Ryo, with a sigh.

Josh and Casey had the decency to at least look embarrassed and Kyle just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said, "if we can get to Mauville before the evening- without another fight or argument- I'll buy dinner."

Oh, if only he were working with Team Rocket, he would have been their god...

The four Destined continued walking toward Mauville, Ryo and Kyle staying between Josh and Casey. Josh used this time to think about what had happened in the battle.

Mawile's attack, Astonish, was strange. It was one of those attacks that worked on a level that no one could see. A... ghost class attack if he remembered correctly and one that worked in a way that could stop anything coming toward the Pokemon. Josh smirked at a thought; if Mawile's attack could be used against Electrike, who was to say that it wouldn't work against this next gym leaders' Pokemon. On that thought...

"What kind of Pokemon does this next gym leader use, again?" asked Josh, sheepishly.

Kyle groaned in exasperation. Ryo misstepped and almost met the full power of gravity on his face. Casey opened her mouth to scream at Josh but got interrupted by Josh. "I know it's electric type. I'm wondering if anyone knows what kind they are."

Ryo double-stepped to cover his close fall. Kyle blinked and sweatdropped. Casey opened and closed her mouth like a beached fish before growling and storming about thirty paces or so ahead of the others, muttering something along the line of 'idiot boys and their lack of brains'.

Ryo shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry Josh, but we're in the dark as much as you are."

Josh shrugged, "Well, it was only a question."

They walked on, oblivious to the fact that less than five minutes ahead of them, a certain five-person group was having a conversation.

----------

"We're tired!" wailed James.

"And hungry!" echoed Jessie.

"And we're dirt poor!" finished Meowth.

Trey and Dakarimon stopped and looked back at the three and then at each other. Trey had to question his sanity again for having teamed up with them, but... it all lead back to the same thing: This was where he was supposed to be.

Dakarimon rolled his eyes as James, Jessie, and Meowth lay on the hard clay road acting like they were about to die of undernourishment. "Would you three get up before I make you?"

James rose to a sitting position on his knees and then fell back over, "But we're too tired to move!"

"And to hungry to even think of moving!"

"We're fading away to nothing more den skin 'n bones here!"

Trey stuffed his hands in his pockets and shifted his shoulders so that his bag would slip into a more comfortable position. "You know, you people act like little babies..." An idea came to him and he turned to look at the three, "Are you sure you're not sore about being creamed by the Destined?"

It was as if they had been charged with Jolt Cola and a full meal. Jessie, James, and Meowth were on their feet in an instant, much to Trey and Dakarimon's amusement.

"You're right, as usual, Trey," said Jessie, "Those twerps think they've seen the last of us? We'll show them! We'll get them back!"

James nodded, "Yes, we've hit rock bottom and it's time for us to start going up again!"

Dakarimon muttered where only Trey could hear, "Someone better tell them that up in not the direction they're digging in, then." Trey snorted in amusement but kept quiet.

"Dat's right! And when we get back on top, we can go help da Boss!" shouted Meowth.

With that said, they took off running down the road to find a spot to set up a trap to capture the 'twerps', leaving Trey and Dakarimon sweatdropping.

"Don't they know-" started Dakarimon. He paused and thought for a moment, "Nope, reckon they don't..." He glanced at Trey, "Should we follow?"

Trey wiped his shades and slipped them back on, "I wonder if we can trigger their trap and catch them." He began walking down the trail.

Dakarimon groaned and facepalmed, "How is it that of all the Destined, I get stuck with the crazy one?" A rock caught him upside the skull and he hit the ground and rolled. He looked up to see Trey tossing another stone in the air.

"You coming, Dakari?"

The lupine Digimon grabbed his naginata and took off after his friend.

----------

All of a sudden, Casey screamed as she was lifted from the ground by a rope around her ankle.

"Casey!" The three guys ran forward only to have their own feet snagged and then they too were swinging in the air, screaming.

Josh gritted his teeth, "Why do I have a feeling that I know exactly who's behind this?"

"Because we've failed before, but this time, we're going to succeed!" came a voice from somewhere near Casey.

Ryo groaned, "Yup, it's them..."

Jessie stepped forward where everyone could see her, or at least when they swung around toward her, that is. "To protect the world from devastation! You've beaten us far too long!"

James joined her, a smirk on his face. "To unite all people within our nation! And now it's our turn to make you sing our song!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love! And show you-"

"Enough already, you two..." came another voice from behind them.

Jessie and James facefaulted as Trey stepped out from the woods.

"MUST YOU SPOIL OUR MOTTO EVERY TIME?" Jessie screamed as she stood up.

Trey smirked, "Your motto?" He shrugged, "Oh, very well, proceed."

Jessie dusted off her top and "ahem'ed" softly, "To protect the world from devastation! Perhaps this time Trey can shut his trap!"

James chimed in, "To unite all people within our nation! Perhaps this time things will be a wrap!"

"To denounce the evils of-"

A loud noise from the bushes followed by an annoyed, "Alright, who's the wise guy who put ropes across the path?" Followed by four near simultaneous dull twangs of high strung rope being sliced.

Four resounding thumps followed by groans and moans from the four Destined almost instantly followed.

This was almost as quickly followed by Dakarimon coming from the bushes, leaves and twigs stuck in his fur and clothing a bit, naginata unsheathed with the business end down and forward. He stopped and looked at Trey, "That was kinda painful..."

Trey deadpanned, "I can tell."

Dakarimon shrugged, "I didn't miss anything, did I?"

Trey shook his head, "Nope, Jessie and James were about to do their motto."

James sighed animatedly and just flopped to the ground, Jessie taking his lead. "It's official, we're hopeless," moaned James.

Jessie nodded, "And we can't do anything right to make the Boss- or Trey-" she added as an afterthought after looking up at Trey who wore a cheeky grin on his face, "- appreciate us!"

The four Destined had finally gotten back on their feet and stood, glaring at Jessie and James.

"What makes you think you deserve their appreciation?" snarled Josh.

James blinked, "Well, we've been trying really hard to follow Trey's orders. He's told us not to attack anyone and we don't-"

Casey's eye twitched and she screamed, "You don't attack anyone? What do you call what you do to us!"

"I'd consider it to be training for both of your groups," remarked Dakarimon.

This made everyone pause in thought.

"Care to elaborate?" asked Ryo.

Trey shrugged at Dakarimon's unasked question to him. Dakarimon nodded, "Sure, why not? Do you know what Jessie and James see you all as?"

Answers ranging from "Twerps," to on unmentionable that got Kyle a fist to the back of the head courtesy of Casey, caused Dakarimon to grin.

"And what do you see Jessie and James as?"

Answers from "Annoyances," to "Hindrances," came this time. Kyle evidently had learned not to curse in front of Casey.

Dakarimon's toothy smile grew bigger. "I know that Trey spoke to these two about what he's here to do, but I'd like to see if anyone understands what he's here to do."

The questioning looks came from the Destined as well as Jessie and James, and Meowth who had wisely came out of the bushes.

Trey rolled his eyes, "What Dakarimon is asking is, does anyone actually understand why I split off from you four and joined with them?"

Everyone shrugged and Trey sighed and pushed the shades farther up his nose. "Okay, cliff notes version, seeing as how I'd like to get to the gym and get my badge some time before the end of the day... You four," at this, he pointed at the Destined, "Are a team. Sure, you might not get along well all the time, but you work together and are powerful. By yourselves, you're strong also; your Pokemon are a testament to that fact." He began walking toward Mauville and everyone realized that this was going to be a 'walk and talk' meeting.

"Now, on the other side of the field, you've got the three remaining members of Team Rocket that are seen everywhere. They're loud, obnoxious, annoying, weak, and they always fail after a run in with those on the quote, side of good, end quote. To put it simply, they stink at their job, agreed?"

Jessie and James nodded sullenly. The Destined shared a grin and nodded also. Dakarimon simply smirked and motioned for Meowth to stay quiet.

"Okay, that's cleared up. Now, since I joined up with these three, I've been trying to train them. If you think about it, they're not quite as raw as they were before they met me."

Ryo nodded, "That's true, but they're also not attacking us as much as they were."

Meowth nodded, "Dat's true too. But dat's because we's afraid of what Trey n' Dakarimon would do to us if youse twer- err, guys (He changed what he was going to say thanks to a 'gentle' prod from Dakarimon) got hurt!"

Josh snorted, "You three couldn't hurt us if you wanted to!"

Meowth laughed, "With Trey's help, we captured youse guys on that island in the woods. Come to think of it, how'd youse get outta that one?"

Kyle blinked, "Trey helped us by having his Lapras form an ice bridge for us to cross."

Casey rounded on Trey, "You're helping them get us and then think you can make it better by saving us!" Trey simply continued walking as she ranted towards him.

After a full minute he sighed, "Are you quite finished?"

Casey stopped yelling mid word and just stared at Trey in shock. She nodded slowly.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for being abrupt, but I've got some things to tell you quickly," sighed Trey. "I'm testing you. Trying to make you stronger- not your Pokemon, but you. If you're stronger, your Pokemon will be too. Anyway, you'll be seeing more of us during the rest of your journey."

Ryo sweatdropped, "Why do I get a bad feeling when he says that?"

Kyle shrugged, "Because you're psychic?"

Ryo groaned in exasperation.

They crested another hill to see Mauville city stretched out in front of them. Trey stopped and the others did too. "Anyway, this is where we split up. Perhaps we can see each others gym battles while we're here."

The others blinked and looked at the path ahead. It split. To the left, it headed toward the western gate to the city and to the right, to the southern gate.

Trey walked off down the west path, throwing a careless "Are y'all coming or not?" to Team Rocket. Without a look back, they followed Trey and Dakarimon leaving the Destined behind.

The Destined shrugged and headed down the other path.

Kyle nodded, "Alright, well, let's get on into town. Maybe we can finish up all of our matches today."

The destined walked down the other path and quickly made their way into the busy city. And boy was it busy. People were laughing and going from shop to shop, and the sights and sounds were vast and wild.

Casey's eyes widened in amazement, "Did we get here just in time for a party or something?"

An old lady nearby heard her and laughed, "Oh, no, dear. You came by way of the southern gate, right?" At the Destined's nods, she continued, "The southern gate is used by traders. This is just a normal day!"

She disappeared into the crowd leaving all of them confused.

"Okay, well, let's head on to the gym," Josh grinned, "I'm sure we can look around this town later."

With that, they began making their way toward the gym. It didn't take them too long to reach the gym, much to their surprise. It was situated in such a way that all could see it.

Quiet, unobtrusive, small. Oh, wait; that wasn't the gym...

Three stories tall, made of brick and steel, a loud (neon greens, yellows, and orange) paint scheme on the building, taking up almost a whole city block. Ah yes, this was the gym.

The scene that they saw as the Destined walked around the side of the gym to the front door was almost as wild as the gym itself.

A loud crackling of energy followed by a pop of discharged electricity followed by two beings flying across the road and through a fence.

The Destined ran over to the two beings and saw a Trainer and his Pokemon, Ralts, on the other side of the fence. The Trainer has green hair and was relatively unassuming.

Ryo asked with concern in his voice, "Are you OK?"

The trainer nodded and said, "I think so, but what about my Ralts?" Kyle was already bent down next to Ralts and listening. A few moments later, he nodded and said, "Your Ralts will be fine. It just needs some time to rest, that's all."

The trainer breathed a massive sigh of relief and said, "Oh, thank goodness. I don't think I would have been able to live with myself if something happened to him."

All of a sudden, the Destined and the trainer could hear hearty laughter coming from the direction of the Gym. They turned to see a short balding trainer with more hair around his mouth than his scalp, and that hair was snow-white.

"You're not a half-bad trainer, Wally. But you're going to have to do a lot better than you did here today if you want any sort of chance of winning at this Gym!" The man laughed again all the way back inside the Gym.

Ryo and Josh blinked at the display as Wally struggled to his feet and sighed. "I guess I should probably go back home to train to get ready to try again..."

Casey looked at Wally and said, "Don't give up hope, Wally. Think like the Electabuzz do!"

Kyle sweatdropped before he nodded, at least agreeing in principle to what Casey was saying.

Wally sighed and recalled Ralts before nodding and waving to the Destined.

At this point, the Destined turned their attention back to the Gym in front of them and then looked at each other, slightly uneasily.

Josh said, "The Pokemon in there must be tough to do that to the poor kid..."

Ryo sighed and said, "Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

The others nodded and together, they entered the Mauville City Gym. At first glance, the gym, whose interior was just as loud as its exterior, looked just like any other gym. There were the stands where spectators and friends of the challenger could sit, there was the battle arena, and there was a Gym Leader on the other side of the Gym, the same man the four of them had seen outside.

What was very different were several things that differed from most Gyms. Among those things were several luck-based games around where the losers got shocked somehow, the buffet off to their immediate right, the nets surrounding the Trainer's Box above the arena where the Pokemon would battle and the number of people in the Gym, all wearing metal bracelets and ankle wraps on their bodies.

Not a single one of them knew what was going on with those bracelets and ankle wraps until a fairly bulky-looking man came up to the four of them and asked, "Are you lot going to face the Gym Leader, Wattson, or what?" After a few moments hesitation, all four of them nodded.

The muscle-bound man stared at them for a moment as if sizing them up and then nodded. He snapped his fingers and a number of, presumably, Gym workers came forth, each bearing a pair of metal bracelets and ankle wraps, which were quickly applied to each of them and locked in place. A small pouch is also locked onto their belts for some unknown reason.

Ryo asked, "Hey, what are these things for?"

The man smirked and said, "You'll see when you get into the arena. They'll be removed from you once you have faced the Gym Leader, win or lose."

Of course, right behind them, the door opened again and who should walk in but Trey and Dakarimon. Trey pulled off his shades and blinked when he saw that the Destined had gotten here ahead of him, but he smiled and said, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see the four of you here."

Casey and Ryo turned to see Trey and Dakarimon standing there and Casey asked rather bluntly, "What, you didn't expect us to come straight here or something!"

Dakarimon was a bit taken aback by Casey's tone, but smirked, "Relax, Casey. We just thought you wouldn't get to this place ahead of us, that's all." His grin grew bigger, "After all, y'all went through the Southern Gate."

Casey glared at him and muttered something about a nice fur coat. The guys wisely stayed quiet.

It wasn't long after this that Trey and Dakarimon are accosted by the same bulky man, and then locked in the same metal bracelets and ankle wraps as everyone else had- after Dakarimon had worked out a promise for work out partner for the evening with the guy.

Of course, one thing Casey and Ryo now noticed missing was Josh and Kyle, both of which were standing in the short line to get in to face the Gym Leader.

Casey and Ryo sweatdropped at the gung-ho-ness of them and decided that the buffet looked more appealing than standing in line. Casey beat Ryo to the buffet table and already had a plate loaded by the time the other Destined got over to it. Ryo looked just slightly sick at the amount of food that Casey was shoveling into her mouth but quickly joined her with almost as much on his own plate, both looking quite content with herself for having the first "decent meal" they've had since leaving Slateport City behind.

Dakarimon and Trey stared at the two obviously ravenous Destined before shrugging and going for a small plate each. After inhaling the sandwiches that he had grabbed, Trey turned to Dakarimon and grinned, "I'm going to go stand in line with Kyle and Josh, you're free to do as you wish for now."

Dakarimon swatted at Trey's head, knocking his floppy hat off and then bowed in mock servitude, "Why, thank ya, Mastah! I shall go stay with the other servants and willfully cheer you on with-mrph!" He was cut off by a sandwich being shoved into his mouth. With a glare at Trey, he moseyed off, munching the sandwich.

Of course, Trey sweatdropped and muttered something about crazy partners before getting behind Josh and calmly tapping him on the shoulder; Josh jumped a bit before turning around and sighing, "Hey there, Trey."

Trey smiled and said, "I suppose you're going to challenge the Gym Leader, huh?"

Josh nodded. "Kyle's up next and neither one of us are that nervous about having to face Wattson yet."

Of course, that would change right quick when Kyle poked Josh to get him to look ahead as the trainer in front of them fell to his knees following what sounded like a fairly strong electrical shock. The Gym workers came in, recalled the Trainer's Pokemon, removed the metal bracelets and ankle wraps, and then proceeded to carry him to the Pokemon Center to receive some medical attention.

Suddenly, Josh and Kyle were far less confident in their abilities, and while Josh wasn't slated to go next and could still back out, Kyle was up now and didn't have a choice in the matter. When he hesitated, the metal bracelets on his wrists suddenly sent a minor shock through Kyle's body and he was told, "Step up right now, young man."

Not wanting to get shocked again, Kyle stepped into the arena slowly and faced his adversary, who smiled at him from the other side of the arena. "I hope you do a lot better than that last trainer did. Let's get on with it!"

The Gym announcer said, "The battle between Wattson and Kyle Evanick is about to begin. It will be a 3-on-3 battle with no time limit. The challenger is permitted to switch out Pokemon at any time, while the Gym Leader is not."

Of course, when Casey heard that Kyle had stepped into the arena, she finished eating for the moment and went to go sit in the spectator seats, planning to watch Kyle win his third badge.

In the line, Josh was slowly backing away from the arena and ended up running into Trey. Josh gulped nervously and immediately apologized to the other man. "I'm just a little nervous," Josh reasoned to Trey.

Trey grinned, "Why don't I go before you then, Josh?"

"Aren't you afraid of the shocks?" asked Josh in amazement.

Trey's grin seemed to sag a bit and the bright look in his eyes faded to an almost haunted look. He shook his head, "Nah. I've... had worse."

Josh nodded, noticing that Trey didn't want to speak about it and quickly took him up on the offer and got behind him, intending to go third among the three of them.

Of course, now began the first battle of this series of Gym Battles, with Wattson sending out Voltorb and Kyle surprising everyone by sending out Noble. His philosophy was simple: sending an Electric-type against another Electric-type meant that Noble could last a while in the battle arena.

The first battle was interesting, to say the least. Noble was more than capable of holding her own in the battle arena, but on the other hand, so was Voltorb. Primarily, Noble used Quick Attack to stay one step ahead of the Electric Pokemon.

Voltorb primarily used Shock Wave to try and stop Noble in her tracks, but unfortunately, it had just the opposite effect, charging up Noble's electricity, even though Kyle did receive a minor shock from the machine.

Kyle smiled, "Noble, use Thunderbolt now!"

Wattson was clearly expecting an ineffective attack against his Pokemon, but what he got instead was a massive blast of electricity which KO'd his Pokemon.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner!" Noble jumped up in excitement at the first win, while Casey was more interested now in how Kyle got shocked during that battle, and so she got up and began exploring the Gym, trying to find the source of the shock treatment.

Meanwhile, Wattson laughed. "It's been awhile since I've had a worthy challenger, but let's see you handle this! Go, Magneton!"

Instantly, a collection of three Magnemite came forth, held together by magnetism, also known as a Magneton.

Kyle smiled and recalled Noble into her Poke Ball, recognizing the fact that this was a Steel-type Pokemon, as well as an Electric-type. "Go, Toaster!" Within moments, the Fire-type came forth on the field.

The second battle was relatively easy, because Wattson was unprepared for someone who had been trained to be as swift as Toaster had. Even the so-called "no-miss" Shock Wave had problems connecting.

And all the while, Toaster used her Ember attack to eat away at Magneton's stamina until finally, it went down with a thud.

"Magneton is unable to battle. Torchic is the winner!"

Toaster leapt up and down in the arena, quite happy with her performance. Wattson nodded and smiled as he recalled Magneton. "You're not too shabby, Kyle! But now, I'm going to bring forth one of my strongest Pokemon! Go, Manectric!"

Casey found herself jealous of Wattson as she saw the evolved form of her Electrike come forth onto the field. The jealousy soon passed as she vowed to make her Electrike even more powerful than Wattson's Manectric and she continued to look for the machine.

The third battle started okay for Toaster, but it quickly turned into a nightmare due to Manectric's overwhelming power.

"Manectric, use Shock Wave now to finish Torchic!" The medium sized bolt of electricity shot off Manectric so quickly that it impacted Torchic before she could do anything about it. Within moments, Torchic fainted, and Kyle felt a fairly powerful shock in his bracelets and wraps, causing him to yelp in pain as the announcer said, "Torchic is unable to battle. Manectric is the winner!"

Wattson smiled as Kyle recalled Torchic into her Poke Ball. Now was the time for him to strike back… "Come on out, Noble!"

Pikachu was soon back out on the field of battle, facing Manectric.

The battle continued for several more minutes, with both trainers trying to out-speed the other, knowing that Electric attacks wouldn't work so well.

Finally, however, Noble did manage to gain the upper hand for good and knocked out Manectric with a good, swift tackle to the jaw.

Wattson gasped when his last Pokemon went down, but then he smiled and laughed. "You certainly grounded me, Kyle! And as a result…"

A Gym Worker came by and handed Kyle the Dynamo Badge, a yellow circular badge with prongs sticking out the sides, as well as TM34, also known as Shock Wave.

Then Wattson sent Kyle out of the arena, leaving his Bracelets and Wraps in place, and yelling, "NEXT!" Of course, that was Trey who was up next. Wattson looked down at his monitor to see who he was dealing with this time, and when he saw the name, he frowned and typed a few keys to pull up some more information and then he smiled. "Ah, so you're Trey Miller. I've been given special instructions to make your Gym Battle harder, so prepare yourself for a 4-on-4 battle!"

Trey put his hand up and said, "Hold on a sec. Can these things be amped up any more?" He pointed to the bracelets.

Wattson blinked, and grinned, "You're either a thrill-seeker or just plain crazy. I think we can do something about the power." He looked up and nodded toward a camera mounted above Trey's head.

The operator at the machine sweatdropped but pulled out the needed key to unlock the failsafe and raise the intensity. He had placed the key in the slot and unlocked it when he was knocked out by Dakarimon. The lupine Digimon smirked and took control of the machine. He can see all the people who are currently hooked up to the machine wirelessly, and see a picture of himself, and the other Destined. Dakarimon smiled, as he pondered what kind of fun with this.

His wolf-hearing picked up the sound of someone nearing the room and he tensed up for a moment before relaxing as his other senses registered that the person was a 'friendly'.

Casey entered the room to see Dakarimon standing at the controls and blinked. "C'mon in, Casey. I'm pretty sure two minds will be better than one with this thing." Casey blinked and then stepped over to Dakarimon's side and looked at the controls. The two shared an evil smile and then got to work.

Wattson smiled, "Let's see what you're made of, Mister Miller! Go, Mareep!" Within moments, the yellow sheep Pokemon comes forth.

Trey smirked, knowing that the first round was already his, even though it hadn't even officially started. "Aggron, rock and roll!"

The giant rock and steel Pokemon appeared from his Poke Ball and roared a challenge to the Mareep. The Mareep responded, sparks beginning to jump from its wool.

Wattson blinked and then he said, "Mareep, use Shock Wave now!"

Trey yelled, "Aggron, Dig underground now!"

Fortunately for Trey, Aggron was quick enough to get out of the way of Shock Wave and end up underground.

Wattson sweatdrops and says, "Mareep, try and dodge Aggron's attack now! And Trey, I'd prefer for my gym to still have its foundations at the end of this battle!" Trey laughed and nodded.

Mareep began to bounce about the field, trying hard to keep moving so that the large Aggron wouldn't catch it.

Unfortunately for the sheep Pokemon, bouncing around the field actually assisted Aggron in finding his target, and as a result, Aggron surfaced several seconds later and slammed the poor sheep Pokemon right into the ceiling with an uppercut. Wattson's amused look faded at the sight of his Pokemon falling, his face clouded over. He was none too thrilled with this turn of events, as Mareep landed on the gym floor seconds later with swirling eyes.

"Mareep is unable to battle. Aggron is the winner!" Trey nodded towards Wattson, a content smile on his face, while Aggron roared with glee down on the field.

Wattson growled lightly as he recalled Mareep and he snarled, "Guess I underestimated you a little bit, Trey."

Trey smirked, but then saw where Wattson was going with this, as he said, "But, believe me, Trey, I won't be making that mistake again! Go, Electrode!"

Instantly, a larger version of the Poke Ball Pokemon, Voltorb, shot forth from its Poke Ball. Trey didn't look the least bit worried about the situation.

However, he soon would be when Wattson yelled, "Electrode, hit Aggron hard with Shock Wave!"

Trey smiled and said, "Aggron, you know what to do." Indeed, he did, as he tried to go underground. Unfortunately, Shock Wave hit too hard and too fast, and as a result, Aggron's Dig attack ceased as the mighty Rock Pokemon fell to his knees. As this happened, Trey also felt a fairly powerful shock running through his system and he winced in minor pain.

It was at this that Dakarimon got an evil idea. "Hey, Casey, maybe we should give the other guys a taste of what Trey's going through…"

Casey blinked, but then she smirked evilly and said simply, "Do it, Dakarimon." Dakarimon pushed a series of three buttons and soon, Josh, Kyle and Ryo yelped in pain. Casey and Dakarimon high-fived one another as they continued to watch Trey in action.

Wattson didn't let up simply because of the fact that Aggron looked like he was in pain. "Electrode, use Shock Wave again on Aggron!" Electrode nodded and built up a minor electrical charge before firing it off at Aggron, resulting in a very similar scene as the last time. Aggron becoming more exhausted after the attack, Trey was wincing in pain from the electrical shock after Aggron got hit, and Josh, Kyle and Ryo were almost constantly yelping in pain from the shocks coming from the machine almost simultaneously as Trey got shocked.

Wattson smirked and said, "Electrode, finish off Aggron now with one more Shock Wave!" Aggron tried to get up and move out of the way, but the discharge was far too fast for the Pokemon to avoid, and as a result, he roared and fell to the ground, having been knocked out.

Trey felt a very powerful electric shock and he screamed in pain and fell to his knees from the electricity running through his system. Josh, Kyle and Ryo felt the standard electrical shock from their bracelets and wraps, only it lasted a little bit longer.

"Aggron is unable to battle. Electrode is the winner!" Wattson didn't give any sort of reaction to his first win of this Gym Battle, knowing that there was still a long way to go. The way he looked at it, now it was just like any other Gym Battle… 3-on-3.

Trey slowly stood up about a minute later and gritted his teeth as he forced his body to stop shaking from the strain on his system. He was only partially successful as still shivered from the electricity trying to short circuit his nervous system. "Now that was certainly a wake-up call." Trey recalled Aggron and looks across at Electrode.

All Wattson said was, "Well, you're the one who asked for it!" before laughing a little bit once again.

Trey nodded, "Indeed. Let's see if you're as tough as you're supposed to be!" Trey pulled out his second Pokeball and yelled, "Grovyle, your turn!" From the Pokeball came a large green lizard, obviously the first evolution of Treecko.

Grovyle chirruped and crouched low in preparation for battle.

Wattson blinked, knowing full well the advantage that Grass-types have over Electric-types. They may not be stronger offensively, but they are superior defensively, making Wattson wonder why Trey didn't use Grovyle first. The obvious answer to that question was that Aggron had a Ground-type attack. Not a strong Ground-type attack, but a Ground-type attack nevertheless.

Trey yelled out, "Grovyle, use Giga Drain!" Grovyle nodded and concentrated on Electrode, his aura flaring to life as he reached out and drew out a ball of energy from the large electrical Pokemon. Of course, the orbs of energy do lose some of their potency in mid-air, but the general purpose was accomplished, causing Electrode to lose stamina, and causing Grovyle to gain stamina, even if it wasn't entirely necessary to do so.

Wattson glared down at Grovyle as he yells, "Electrode, use Rollout!"

Trey saw this coming from a mile away, however, and he smiles. "Grovyle, Leaf Blade, now!" The two attacks hitting one another ended up with Grovyle gaining a serious upper-hand after his experience allowed him to strike Electrode at just the right time to stop Rollout from working properly.

Trey yells out, "Finish the job now! Use Giga Drain!" The attack once more ripped energy right out of Electrode and into Grovyle's body, restoring the small amount of lost stamina from the Leaf Blade attack. Electrode's last bit of energy left its body and it fainted on the spot before Wattson could order it to Explode.

"Electrode is unable to battle. Grovyle is the winner!"

Wattson laughed and said, "Very good, Trey. Let's move on to your third opponent. One which you are likely have some trouble with…" As Wattson recalled Electrode, he pulled out his third Pokemon and yelled, "Go, Magneton!" Pretty soon, the 3-magnet Pokemon comes forth and Trey grinned, thinking this round was going to be an easy time.

"Grovyle, focus now!" Grovyle nodded and closed his eyes, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

Wattson was not the least bit amused and yelled, "Magneton, use Zap Cannon now!" Trey cringed as Wattson called the attack. This was the extremely powerful Electric-type attack with only about a 50 chance of hitting. However, if it did, it would paralyze Grovyle and put him at a severe disadvantage.

Fortunately for Trey, though, Magneton was off the mark with its Zap Cannon, missing Grovyle by mere inches, and Trey breathed in relief. He used the front brim of his hat to wipe the sweat from his brow, and then he snarled, "Now, while Magneton is recovering! Use Focus Punch!"

Wattson gulped as he watched Grovyle's form blur and almost instantly appear right in front of Magneton, his right arm shrouded in a brown aura as he jabbed it right into the center of the Magneton, not only disrupting most of the energy they were sharing, but also managing to send the large creature to the floor where it bounced several times before falling unconscious.

"Magneton is unable to battle. Grovyle is the winner!" Trey smiled, knowing he was only one Pokemon away from achieving his third Gym Badge.

Wattson recalled his Pokemon, and without a word, pulled out one more and tossed it out onto the field. Not surprisingly, it was Wattson's strongest Pokemon, Manectric.

While Trey might not have known the ins and outs of the Pokemon in front of Grovyle, he did know that Manectric's speed was in a whole different class to that of the fast Grovyle, and as a result, many of Trey's attempts to knock out the Pokemon were met with nothing but air.

Wattson smirk grew as the minute went by as he watched his Pokemon easily avoid Grovyle's rather speedy attacks. He knew that as soon as Grovyle ran out of stamina, Manectric could go in for the kill quite easily.

What surprised both Wattson and Trey though, was the fact that Grovyle actually didn't need to be struck once by Manectric during the minute and a half. By using his attacks without hitting, Grovyle ran himself into exhaustion, and as a result, he fell over without ever having been touched by Manectric.

"Grovyle is unable to battle. Manectric is the winner!" Wattson, Manectric, Josh and the announcer all sweatdropped at this very, very strange turn of events as Trey smiled wanly and recalled Grovyle. He whispered something to the Pokeball as he shrunk it and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The odds of him winning this battle were shrinking and he frowned. Of the Pokemon he had left Lapras would be the easiest to fall followed quickly by Umbreon...

"If Challenger Trey Miller does not choose a Pokemon within the next fifteen seconds, he will forfeit the battle!"

Trey opened his eyes and grinned as he pulled out one last Pokeball, "I choose you, Espeon!" In a flash of red light, the purple Eevee evolution appeared on the field with the familiar cry, "Espeon!"

Wattson was rather interested by this choice, unsure of Trey's logic behind choosing a Psychic-type Pokemon. Then again, if the young man in front of him wanted to lose that badly... who was he to complain?

"Espeon, use Psybeam!" It was certainly apparent to him now, as the rainbow-colored beam of light hit the Electric-type Pokemon and he struggled to stay on his feet, that he had once again underestimated the challenger.

Wattson yelled, "Manectric, move now and use Shock Wave!" Manectric jumped out of the way, launching Shock Wave soon afterward. Espeon anticipated the attack before it ever was called and was moving forward and to the side of the electric Pokemon without a command from Trey. Wattson honestly wasn't sure which was more impressive, the fact that Espeon didn't need to be commanded, or the fact that Espeon could move so fast.

Unfortunately for Manectric, Espeon was able to get behind it and, at Trey's command, launched another Psychic assault on the Electric Pokemon's mind.

After a couple of seconds of Wattson trying to get Manectric to move unsuccessfully, he gave up and simply called the mighty Manectric back. "Manectric is unable to battle. Trey Miller is the victor of this Gym Battle!" Trey grinned as he leapt down from where he was, recalling Espeon back.

After a few moments of moping, Wattson smiles, "That was a fantastic battle! You did a great job!"

Trey bowed to Wattson as he was given the Dynamo Badge and TM34 and made his way toward the spectator area.

As Trey passed Josh, he patted the younger man on the shoulder, wishing him good luck. At the machine, Casey smiled evilly, thinking she was going to have some real fun giving Josh a real shock treatment which would make him miss the shocks he was being given by Electrike…

The battle started simply enough… with Josh calling out his Poochyena and Wattson calling forth his Voltorb. Of course, when Josh called forth Poochyena, he felt an electric shock and he yelled, "Wattson! I haven't even taken a hit yet and you've already shocked me!

Wattson blinked and said, "That wasn't my fault." Josh blinked himself, but shook it off.

As one might have expected, the Gym Battle started fast and furious with Wattson commanding Voltorb to mainly stay away from Poochyena and launch attacks from a distance and Josh commanding Poochyena to get in close enough to let loose with a Bite attack against Voltorb.

Over the first couple of minutes, both Pokemon were trying to feel one another out, trying to figure out each other's weaknesses. Of course, soon the moment of truth was at hand as Poochyena and Voltorb charged at each other at the command of their trainers.

The results of these two attacks clashing with one another were very… interesting. Voltorb ended up fainting from a savage Bite attack against a weak point. But, on the other hand, Poochyena fainted from the Spark attack which came off Voltorb following the Bite. It was a rare double KO, leaving both Josh and Wattson stunned. Josh's connection to the machine seemed to be a bit strong in his opinion, as he had to grab the netting to stay on his feet.

"Both Voltorb and Poochyena are unable to battle. This battle is a draw."

Josh and Wattson recalled their Pokemon and then sent out two new ones.

"Go, Blade!" Josh yelled.

"Magneton, go!" Wattson cried.

Josh cringed, knowing that this was going to be tough since none of his Pokemon could adequately penetrate the Steel-type, which is what Magneton was. Josh had to be more clever than usual if he wanted to find a way to win this round.

Fortunately for Josh, he found a weakness rather early in Wattson's defenses. Because Wattson was ordering Magneton to use Sonicboom rather than Shock Wave to deal damage, Josh was able to use Blade's overpowered Bullet Seed to his advantage, using the force of the blow to knock Magneton off-balance before it could attack, causing it to miss far more often than it should have.

Wattson did try to resort to using Shock Wave in lieu of using Sonicboom, but even then, the Bullet Seed attacks managed to cause Shock Wave to miss a couple of times, which turned out to be enough.

"Blade, use Bullet Seed one more time!" The swarm of tiny green seeds impacted Magneton and threw it off-balance again. However, this Bullet Seed also took the last bit of Magneton's stamina and it fainted.

"Magneton is unable to battle. Treecko is the winner!" Josh was merely struggling to stay on his feet as it seemed that each attack his Pokemon were making was also being met with a shock through his bracelets and wraps.

Wattson grinned and said, "Well, two down and one more to go, my friend! Go, Manectric!" Wattson pulled out his remaining Poke Ball and tossed out Manectric onto the field.

Josh frowned, knowing that the technique he had been using wouldn't be nearly as effective against Manectric. Of course, it didn't stop him from trying to use Bullet Seed to the same advantage.

Unfortunately, Manectric severely out-sped Blade and was able to dodge until Treecko began to run out of stamina just from trying to summon that attack up so many times in a row. When Blade began to breathe heavily, Wattson went in for the kill.

"Manectric, Bite Treecko now!" Manectric charged in and bit Blade hard, causing him to yelp in pain and causing Josh to fall to his knees from the more powerful electrical blast running through his body. Blade soon fainted in Manectric's mouth before he spat out the Grass Pokemon.

"Treecko is unable to battle. Manectric is the winner!" Josh got up from his knees with some effort and recalled Blade into his Poke Ball.

Now was the moment of truth… a one-on-one combat for all the marbles. And Josh's last Pokemon was about to come forth and face down Manectric in combat. Josh closed his eyes and thought back to earlier in the day when he faced down Electrike in battle. Since Manectric was simply the evolved form of Electrike, the same tactics which worked against Casey's Pokemon should apply here.

Josh pulled out his Poke Ball and yelled, "Go, Mawile!" The deception Pokemon came forth and smiled at Manectric, putting him off a little bit.

The next few minutes were spent with Manectric trying to KO Mawile, and Josh using every trick in the book to try and mess with Manectric's mind. While Sweet Scent drew the Pokemon closer, Astonish caused him to flee… right into the wall of the arena, causing Manectric to pull a 'Wil E. Coyote' maneuver multiple times.

These tactics would proceed for several more minutes, Wattson's cries of "Focus" and "Block her out" falling upon deaf ears.

Finally, Mawile's Astonish caused her opponent to ram into the wall one too many times, which turned out to be enough for Manectric to be KO'd, all without Mawile having been touched at all during the fight. Of course, Josh had been shocked without fail each time he announced an attack, making Josh think more and more that somebody else was behind the shock treatment.

It really didn't matter now as the announcer came on and said, "Manectric is unable to battle. Josh Johannesen is the victor in this very close Gym Battle!" Josh leapt into the air, at least as well as he could in the enduring pain from all the electric shocks.

Josh was then handed his Dynamo Badge and TM34. Wattson opted not to say a word, not being able to remember the last time he had been beaten three times in a single day.

After Josh earned his badge, he went looking for Casey, who had conveniently returned to the buffet just as soon as Josh won, along with Dakarimon.

When Trey noticed the return of Dakarimon, he asked rather flatly, "Do I even want to know what kind of trouble you've been in, Dakari?"

Dakarimon sweatdropped and laughed nervously, "Trouble? Nope, not this time. Why? Is something the matter?"

Trey gave his partner a look that said he didn't believe the other and said, "No, nothing's wrong... just a little bit... off."

The rest of the day went off with very little happening, since Ryo and Casey wanted to wait until tomorrow to get the job done. And so it was, through a kindness from Wattson himself, Trey and the Hoenn Destined slept peacefully in the Mauville Gym.

----------

Elsewhere, Jessie, James, and Meowth walked down one of the many streets.

Trey had given them some spending money to get some food and to relax for the day, prior to him going into the gym.

Murphy, the great god of chaos and disorder had turned a blind eye on them that afternoon, giving them a reprieve from any kind of accidents.

"So what are we going to do about tonight?" asked James.

Jessie counted the money that they had, "Well, we've got enough to get a late dinner and find a place to sleep for the night."

"I think James meant, ain't we gonna pull some kind of criminal act tonight?" asked Meowth.

Jessie thought about it for a moment, "Well, Trey did say we could do what we wanted, tonight..."

"But youse both know that Trey and Dakarimon would punish us if we did something!" stated Meowth.

James nodded, "Yes, but Trey and Dakarimon aren't here, are they?"

"It's Dakarimon we're talking about, James. Dat guy can move quieter than a Persian!" Meowth lowered his voice and looked around, "For all we knows, dey could be listening in on us right now!"

They were quiet for a few as they continued walking down the street, when they heard some voices down an alley. The voices were harsh sounding.

Team Rocket looked at each other and, for once, quietly made their way to the entrance of the alley and looked down it.

There, under a single street light stood four people in black and blue outfits with a large, bold 'A' on the back of the jackets. Team Aqua...

"Okay, remember, it goes down tomorrow afternoon!" stated the first Team Aqua member.

"We know! But there's something that might mess up out plans a bit," said the second.

"What is it?"

The third, a woman spoke up, "Those two that blew up our ship off of Dewford Island are here."

"What! When did they get here!"

"They arrived today."

The fourth, another woman finally said something, "It gets worse... Those Digidestined from Kanto and Johto are also here. I ran into them today."

"Were you compromised?" asked the first.

She shook her head, "No. I was in disguise."

The four grew silent for a moment.

"Okay, the plan still happens, but we're pushing it back another day. Tomorrow, we'll try to get some more information on them. Perhaps we can remove them before they cause us too much trouble. This meeting is adjourned. Do not get caught."

The four walked on down the alley and disappeared as they turned on the next street, leaving Jessie, James, and Meowth with the feeling that they were about to do something that went completely against their normal work ethics.

"Trey needs to know about this as soon as possible," stated Jessie. James and Meowth nodded.

"I'm afraid we can't allow you to tell him." Team Rocket turned to see another Team Aqua person standing there, a Poliwrath by his side. "Poliwrath, Hypnosis."

A moment later, two sleeping humans and one sleeping Meowth lay on the sidewalk. The man stepped over to them and said, "You never saw anything tonight." With that, he placed a disc in James' pocket and walked off, Poliwrath beside him.

Team Rocket spent the night on the sidewalk sleeping.

The next morning, they awoke and Jessie gasped, "How did we fall asleep! We need to go tell Trey-" she stopped talking and frowned.

James yawned, "Need to tell Trey, what, Jessie?"

Jessie's frown deepened as she wracked her brain. "I know I'm forgetting something that we were supposed to tell Trey."

"Well, it probably wasn't dat important if you forgot it, already!" said Meowth.

Jessie nodded, "You're probably right..."

James grinned, "Now let's get some food! I'm starving!"

And with that, Team Rocket went for breakfast.

----------

Day Two

Ryo and Casey, the two challengers for the day were up and in line waiting for Wattson at 6:30. They had woken up with the workers and had gotten up and prepared, even though the gym officially opened for trainers to come in and wait at 8 AM.

The two early-rising trainers noticed that there were two less forms in the room. Trey and Dakarimon had already left by the time they woke up. They simply shrugged it off as another on of the enigmatic-duo's quirks.

Thirty minutes later, the beginnings of a heavy metal rock song blared over the inside speakers of the gym, rudely waking up the other two Destined for the pleasant dreams that they were in. While they were woken up enough to move, they were by far the nicest morning people. After one of the staff members had guided 'Misters Grumpy and Grumpier' into the main room to fend for themselves, they made their way over to the two waiting battlers, yawning.

"Where's - yawn - Trey?" asked Josh.

Casey shrugged, "I think I saw them about thirty minutes ago, but they were already awake when we woke up." Ryo nodded to confirm that.

Kyle shrugged, "Well, I'm going for some breakfast. I'll try to watch your battle if I'm awake enough." He turned to walk away when Casey grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him around.

Casey pulled him forward until their noses were almost touching and she growled at him, "Now listen here, Kyle Evanick! You WILL be awake and you WILL cheer for me! Do I make myself clear?"

Kyle's sleep-adled mind quickly woke up in time for him to simply stare at her wide-eyed and nod and squeak out in a high-pitched voice, "Crystal clear!"

Casey let him go and smiled, "Good!"

Kyle and Josh hastily beat an escape over to the food where they found Trey and Dakarimon laughing at Kyle from behind a large bush. With glares aplenty, the four ate quickly and proceeded to the spectator's area to watch the battle.

Wattson walked in a few minutes later and the first battle of the morning began between Casey and Wattson. Casey smiled as she announced, "Go, Meganium!" When Meganium came forth, her smile grew bigger as Wattson predictably threw out Voltorb first.

Josh soon got up and went to see if he could find out how in the world Casey shocked him during yesterday's Gym bout. Dakarimon whispered to Trey what was happening, and then he too disappeared to go make sure Josh didn't do anything stupid. Err, too stupid.

Back on the field, it was Obvious that Meganium outclassed Voltorb by a large margin with a combination of elemental resistance and a great deal of additional experience.

"Meganium, finish off Voltorb with Body Slam!" Before Wattson was able to react, Meganium was on top of Voltorb and slammed the Ball Pokemon into the ground. Wattson was taken by surprise by the ease with which Meganium won the initial combat.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. Meganium wins!" Casey gave a thumbs-up to Meganium as Wattson recalled Voltorb and frowned slightly.

Wattson then sighed and yelled, "Go, Magneton!" as he pulled out his 2nd Pokeball and tossed it out onto the field.

Casey wasn't the least bit worried because of the fact that Meganium was still quicker than Magneton, so the job should be just as easy to finish... in theory.

Magneton used mostly Shock Wave while trying to play keep away from Meganium and her Body Slam attacks. Of course, Shock Wave wasn't very effective against the Grass-type Meganium. Add in the fact that Meganium had learned to take a few hits in her day, and you had a very lopsided battle, with Meganium sticking mostly to the very powerful Solarbeam.

In fact, within mere minutes, Magneton faints from one final shot of Solarbeam from Meganium's petals, causing Wattson to massively sweatdrop at, again, the ease of defeat. "Magneton is unable to battle. Meganium wins this round!" Casey smiled, knowing she was now one win away from a clean sweep of this Gym.

Wattson nodded and yelled as he pulled out his last Pokeball, "Go, Manectric!" Casey quickly felt the heat rise in her face as jealously took over. Oooh, Wattson was going to get his just desserts when she stomped the awesomely cool (in her opinion) Pokemon into the ground.

In what would prove to be the third and final battle of this particular Gym Battle, Meganium used Vine Whip almost exclusively to keep Manectric at bay and make sure he couldn't get close enough to use any of his more powerful attacks, including Spark.

The battle was really over before it started, as Meganium's much greater experience was the deciding factor, not to mention her elemental affinity against Electric-types in general.

Casey decides to end this battle with a bang. "Meganium, let's knock Manectric out of the park with a Solarbeam attack!" Meganium charged solar energy for a few moments while Wattson looked on, wondering how much damage this would do to his Gym.

The answer would come mere moments later as the massive yellow beam fired from Meganium's petals, aimed right at Manectric. Manectric was unable to sidestep this attack and took the full brunt of the blow, as did the wall right behind him. And the wall right behind that one. And the wall right behind that one.

The only reason Manectric didn't go all the way through the gym was due to a well known Digimon catching the KO'ed Pokemon before it could suffer any more damage.

Ironically, it wasn't the spectacular save that was realized. The reason for this is because everyone was preoccupied by two things. First, part of the arena wall crumbled due to the impact- not to the point where the gym wasn't usable, simply just to the point to show a room behind.

The other, more obvious thing that happened was that Casey could see into the room. There stood Josh at the controls to the electroshock machine. To save face and get on out of there before the big explosion he could tell was about to happen, the referee quickly stated the results, "Manectric is unable to battle. Casey Sparks wins this Gym Battle!"

Wattson used the recall feature to call back Manectric and then moved to the side of the field as Trey and Kyle ran up beside him.

Casey's eye twitched.

Josh blinked.

Casey opened her mouth and spoke softly, but was able to be heard all over the gym. "Joshua Johannesen... What. Are. You. Doing. There."

Josh blinked out of his shocked look and grinned evilly before jamming his thumb down on the button under Casey's picture.

Casey felt a jolt of electricity run through her body and she yelped in minor pain. Kyle sweatdropped mildly, as he was quick to figure out what happened, and what would happen in the aftermath.

Casey ran toward Josh and screamed out, "How dare you!"

Josh turned around quickly and said simply, "You've had it coming for two days now." Casey tried to pull out her hammer, but Josh just pushed the button beneath Casey's picture, causing Casey to feel another electric jolt through her body.

Casey yelped once more from the pain, but got up and ran to the machine, pushing the button beneath Josh's picture, causing him to feel the electrical shock. This would begin one of the most childish fights yet, where the two of them were trying to shock one another into submission.

Wattson sweatdropped, "Does this happen often?"

Kyle nodded, "Unfortunately."

Wattson's worried look deepened, "I hope they didn't find the key to take it off of safety."

Dakarimon walked up and chuckled, "Don't worry, I got to the key before Josh could and swiped it. Everything is set on the lowest setting, so we're more likely to just see them giving up sooner or later."

Wattson nodded to the Digimon, "Well, thank goodness for small blessings." He pulled out the gym badge and TM, "Do you think you can give this to her?"

Dakarimon nodded before taking the badge and TM and walking to the spectator's area where, crazily enough, Meganium had dragged Josh and Casey to.

Dakarimon quickly handed Casey her badge and TM and sat down to watch the next fight.

While this was going on, Ryo stepped up into the arena as Wattson was handed a fresh set of Poke Balls. When Wattson saw who he was up against, he smiled. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the mighty Ryo Akiyama; this should be a fun bout."

Ryo nodded and smiled. "Indeed it will, Wattson." The rules were announced and after the announcer told both competitors to begin, Ryo pulled out what some might consider the most obvious Pokemon Ryo could have chosen for this bout.

"Go, Swinub!" The tiny pig Pokemon came forth on the field. Wattson then yelled, "Go, Voltorb!" The orb Pokemon came forth as well and both Pokemon faced one another.

Of course, there was one primary reason why Ryo chose to employ Swinub for this Gym Battle, and that reason was about to become apparent. "Swinub, time to use Mud Shot!" As the mud goes flying, Wattson doesn't look too happy with this turn of events. Voltorb endured this attack, but just barely.

Of course, the other part of Wattson's general unhappiness with the situation was the fact that Rollout, Voltorb's only attack which would not be completely negated due to Swinub's Ground-type nature, would not deal much damage due to said nature.

So Wattson's first Pokemon was left generally helpless as it was struck one more time by a Mud Shot from Swinub before fainting from exhaustion. "Voltorb is unable to battle. Swinub is the winner!"

Ryo doesn't bother to celebrate, sure that Wattson was bound to have something up his sleeve to combat Swinub effectively.

Wattson recalled Voltorb and sighs. Things were not getting off to the start he had wanted them to. Wattson then pulled out his next Pokemon and yells, "Let's redeem ourselves! Go, Magneton!" The Magnet Pokemon came out of its Poke Ball and faced Swinub.

Wattson smiled and commanded, "Magneton, hit Swinub hard with a Sonicboom!" Magneton hit Swinub with the Sonicboom and he lost a bit of his footing. Ryo also took a shock to the arm. Clearly, this attack was working at least better than anything Voltorb could have dished out.

However, it wasn't nearly enough. "Swinub, hit Magneton with Mud Shot!" The literal shot of mud aimed at Magneton hit its mark and as a result, Magneton fainted immediately. Why, you ask? The Ground-Type Mud Shot was very effective against not only Magneton's Electric-type nature, but also its Steel-type nature, resulting in a one-hit knock-out.

"Magneton is unable to battle. Swinub wins this round of the competition!" Ryo looks a little bit happier, thinking that perhaps he'll get through this Gym Battle without needing any more than a single Pokemon. Wishful thinking in most circumstances, but there was no better opponent for an Electric-type than a Ground-type… most of the time.

Wattson knew he had an uphill battle, but it had been done before. He pulled out his final Pokemon after recalling Magneton. "Well, it's all up to you now. Go, Manectric!"

Manectric came forth on the field of battle and Ryo nodded, knowing what he had to do. "Swinub, it's time to use Powder Snow!" This was not what Wattson was expecting at all, as the Ice-type attack blew all over Manectric, causing him to shiver a little bit, but not much beyond that.

Wattson yelled, "Manectric, charge at Swinub and bite that little pig!" The unfortunate side-effect of Swinub's Powder Snow was that for a few moments after the attack was over, Manectric's reactions were a little… sluggish, to say the least.

This momentary lapse in reaction time causes Ryo to get the idea to try and finish the job. "Swinub, let's hit Manectric with Mud Shot! Ground that Pokemon now!"

Manectric's reaction time was far less than par, and as a result, he charged right into the flying shot of mud and ends up being flung backwards as a result.

Manectric tried desperately to get up afterwards and continue fighting, but in reality, he was far too exhausted to continue the fight and collapsed soon afterward. Wattson gasped as his final Pokemon went down and Ryo achieved a sweep of this Gym. "Manectric is unable to battle. The winner of this Gym Battle is Ryo Akiyama!"

Ryo grinned happily and gave a thumbs-up to Swinub, who jumped about happily, crying, "Swinub! Swinub!"

Wattson sighed as he recalled Manectric, but then he smiled and laughed heartily. "Boy, did you get me good, Ryo! I guess I need to train harder. Take this!" Wattson snapped his fingers and Ryo was handed the Dynamo Badge. Ryo doesn't bother with a pose, not wanting to embarrass himself.

Of course, at about this time, both Josh and Casey were finally free of Meganium. Meganium had been called back. And if it weren't for the fact that Dakarimon and Trey interfered, they might have made it back to the electroshock machine.

As they took Josh and Casey back to Ryo, Kyle, and Wattson, Dakarimon asked rather pointedly, "You two can't be left alone for two minutes, can you!" Both Casey and Josh blushed with embarrassment at the situation as they are carried back to the others.

-10 Minutes Later-

The bracelets and ankle wraps are unlocked from around the Destined's limbs as they got ready to head out the door. Wattson smiled and said, "Come, there's no need to rush. Stay awhile."

Trey put up his hand and said, "Well, I'd love to, but I've really got to be getting back to my three "charges", if you catch my drift." The Destined knew exactly who Trey was referring to… as Trey had been referred before as the "meal ticket" of Team Rocket.

Both he and Dakarimon parted ways with the Destined first, saying rather simply, "We'll meet again, very soon, my friends... perhaps over lunch at the restaurant near the Pokemon Center after I find those three..." Dakarimon waved to the others as they walked off down the street.

Josh, Ryo, Casey and Kyle turned back to Wattson, who laughed once again. "Boy, you kids are surely something, aren't you?"

Casey pumped her fist in the air and said, "Of course we are! We're Digidestined, not just some average, everyday trainers!" Of course, Wattson had little idea of what Casey was babbling about at this point, but it wasn't really his job to know.

Wattson smiled and says, "With the level of talent between the four of you as well as Trey, I wouldn't be surprised if you eventually make it all the way to Ever Grande Island!"

Ryo observed, 'That's where the Hoenn League Championships are held, right?"

Wattson nodded and Kyle and Josh smiled. Kyle said excitedly, "We'll end up out there someday!"

Wattson laughed and said, "I'll be rooting for you right here when you do! Good luck to ya!"

The Destined thanked Wattson for his kind words and they waved to him as they exited the Mauville Gym, ready to explore more of this busy city, called the "Crossroads of Hoenn".

---------

In a hotel room near the main street of Mauville, a man stood at parade rest in front of a video phone, as he waited for the connection to go through. After almost a minute waiting, the screen flickered to life showing a woman whose identity could not be discerned due to the lack of lighting on her face.

"Report."

The man came to full military attention and saluted. "Ma'am, the team is ready to strike the intended target. There has, unfortunately, been a necessary delay."

"...What kind of delay?"

"Ma'am, it is the same two who you have informed us to keep an eye out for."

There was silence as the woman leaned back in her chair on the other side of the connection. "Hmm... this does prove to be an interesting reason for a delay... Anything else?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We have also received word that the Digidestined from Kanto are here."

"Very interesting... when are you scheduled to begin the operation?"

"We are planning it for tomorrow afternoon. That gives us today to successfully put a stop to any plans that they might be able to think up."

"And your plans for that?"

"One of our operatives, ID number 3913 has already placed a copy of some generic Team Aqua files as well as a fake covert operative badge on one person who we know is traveling with the two you are after. That same operative is going to do the same with the Digidestined."

The woman nodded absently, "Do not fail me, Agent Rook. The penalty for failure is... not one you would enjoy."

The man nodded and stiffened up a bit more, "I understand completely, Ma'am. You can count on my team."

The screen went blank as the connection was terminated.

The man, Agent Rook, sighed. This mission simply had to go according to plan. It was foolproof, after all.

----------

And thus begins the three part 'Crossroads' mini-saga.


	31. Ep 30: Crossroads of Hoenn, Pt 2

--Digital World--

In the Digital World, there are four primary guardians- one for each of the four compass directions. Three of those are, how do we say, normal. The fourth, on the other hand, is a bit more unique.

Mewtwo, the result of man trying to play God; A genetic hybrid Pokemon based off the DNA of another Pokemon called Mew. Mewtwo has great psychic powers, capable of lifting a grain of sand with his mind to manipulating the memories of whole groups of people, and even beyond that.

But that's just the basic part of his resume. Mewtwo is also a guardian of the Digital World; a digital Pokemon, if you please. And while his powers are vast and his knowledge is great, there are still many things that continued to confuse and remain a mystery to him.

On the top of this list was Hoenn. What was known to him was that the section of the digital world that overlaid the landmass of Hoenn in the Pokemon world was... well, for lack of a better term, dead. There was almost no digital energy in Hoenn. Almost none, because he could tell, even from outside of the dead zone, that there was a stable Pokemon retrieval system in place, from one Pokemon Center to the next. There was also the extremely faint digital signals that represented the link between Digidestined and the Digital World.

You see, as a guardian, Mewtwo had the ability to 'see' the link between Digidestined and the Digital world. This allowed each of the guardians, but him especially, to be able to enter either the Human world or the Pokemon world and find a Destined, or a Chosen child with little difficulty. And since he had sent Ryo to Hoenn to find out what was going on, he had been keeping a keen eye on the Destined in Hoenn.

There were nine that had entered Hoenn that Mewtwo recognized, six of those were Destined, or Chosen, and the other three were the Digimon (or in Ryo's case, Digital Pokemon). But there were three (plus one or two that blended with the third) that Mewtwo had never seen before. What was unnerving was that two of those had appeared out of seemingly thin air, and the dead zone around their arrival had lit up like the ball drop on New Years day in New York City. This didn't last long, but for the instant that it did, all four of the guardians had been shocked silly. And then the dead zone had became dead again, and all that was left in its wake were two digital beacons that were familiar, but... different. Strangely enough, both felt like Chosen, but one of the two also had a deeper connection to the digital world, as if it were a Digimon. But... that couldn't be true... could it?

The third link that Mewtwo felt was also different, but this time it was not a familiar difference. And it had not originated in Hoenn. Mewtwo cursed his foolishness for not keeping as close a watch on the other parts of the world, but there was nothing that could be done about it. This link, like the other two, had appeared out of nowhere, but unlike the massive energy surge that had accompanied the two in Hoenn, there was barely a nudge.

But now there were twelve (or more) beings with connections to the Digital world. While he did not know what was going on, he knew something but was happening.

And a major portion of it seemed to have to do with those two who had just appeared in Hoenn from nowhere...

Digicross Advanced Episode 30: "Crossroads of Hoenn, Part 2"

Episode written by Trey Miller and Josh Johannesen

--Mauville Town, Hoenn, Pokemon world--

Trey and Dakarimon simultaneously sneezed and then looked at each other. "Jinx!" they said in unison before grinning and walking on. They had a few inept members of Team Rocket to go find...

Meanwhile, as was common with our heroes, the Digidestined, there was another argument going on.

Josh fumed, "Let's go to the Pokemon Center and then we can go shopping! Trey said-"

"Trey said! Trey said!" screamed Casey, "I don't care what Trey said! Let's just go, get our Pokemon healed, and go look around by ourselves!"

Kyle looked at Ryo and then back at the two, "All of this because Trey stopped her from killing him?"

Ryo nodded and massaged his temples, "Amongst other things, yes."

The quartet had left Wattson's gym not even fifteen minutes prior, where Josh had stated that they should hurry to the Pokemon Center to meet up with Trey. Coincidentally, Casey was still somewhat upset over the happenings in the Gym, and had started arguing with Josh, more for the sake of arguing than anything.

That, of course, lead to a fifteen, no, sixteen minute argument. Casey and Josh lead the way to the Pokemon Center with Ryo and Josh staying behind (out of sight, out of mind, eh?). And so far, everything was semi-peaceful.

"I know we've gone over this half a dozen times, but," Ryo sighed, "What do you think Trey's motives are?"

Kyle was quiet as they walked.

"I dunno. I guess, if he's telling the truth, it's to get everyone stronger."

"Yeah, but why work with Team Rocket? Why not just train us?"

"I think Trey knows a lot more about what's going on than he lets us know. Now, whether or not that has anything to do with- Hey!" Kyle stumbled as a guy shouldered past him, knocking his pack askew and almost sending him tumbling into Ryo.

The man muttered an apology as he kept going without even looking back. Josh and Casey had noticed the man brushing past them and turned to see Kyle shifting his pack around some and they came back.

"What happened?" asked Josh.

Kyle frowned and reoriented his pack.

"That guy almost knocked me over! And he didn't even stop to make sure I was still standing!"

Casey looked around and shrugged, "Well, he's gone now. Let's go on and get to the Pokemon center." With that, the four walked on quietly, without any more incidents.

As they entered the Center, the same man that had almost knocked Kyle over pulled out a radio and keyed up, "This is unit three. Package has been delivered."

The radio crackled to life, "Roger, unit three. Return to base."

"Wilco, out."

The man turned off the radio and walked off in the other direction. His calm, even look shifted into a smirk, those pesky kids wouldn't know what hit them!

No sooner had the Destined came out of the Pokemon Center, Trey, Dakarimon, and their three tagalongs came around the corner and everyone stopped.

Trey sighed as the tension grew even thicker, "Alright, fine." He pulled out a little white piece of cloth and waved it in the air.

"Truce. Nobody attacks, nobody insults, and nobody does anything that could be considered hostile." He glanced at his tagalongs, "That goes triple for you lot."

Ryo glanced at Kyle and Josh and then nodded and stepped forward, "Done." He said this quick enough that Casey couldn't even argue.

Trey nodded, "I was meaning to tell you all, great battles. Especially from you, Josh. I like how you and Blade did battle."

Josh nodded, "Thanks. I see you used the same dodge and attack strategy with your Grovyle." Trey and he grinned and laughed.

And the ice was broken, at least for the time being.

"Alright Trey, we're here. What did you want to do?" asked Kyle.

Trey shrugged, "Dunno, really. But hey, there's a casino here. That's one place I think everyone wants to go."

Meowth's eyes lit up, and a grin appeared on his face, "Dat sounds like fun!"

"Yes! At the casino we can win lots of money! Become rich and buy some better equipment!" exclaimed James, catching on.

"And with the better equipment, we can do more criminal works and get things for the boss!" added Jessie.

Everyone sweatdropped.

Trey composed himself and nodded. "Alright," he said and turned back to the destined, "Let me go drop off my Pokemon and I'll be right with you. Coming, Dakari?"

"Right behind you," muttered his partner. They entered the center, leaving the others together.

Casey and Josh glanced at each other and then back at Jessie and James, who, since Trey had left were trying to glare holes through the centers doors. Ryo coughed and tried to act interested, "So, Jessie, James, why exactly are you two with Trey?"

Team Rocket stared at him in confusion for a moment before returning their glares to the door.

"I mean, we know why Trey's with you, but why are you with him?"

Jessie turned her glare from the door to Ryo. "For your information, we're only with him because he's a means to us returning to the top."

Ryo blinked in shocked surprise, "Trey's helping you do criminal acts?"

Meowth shook his head, frowning, "He's too goody-goody to do dat."

"He's actually trying to get us to be better trainers," added James.

"Oh."

Jessie asked the next question, "So why'd he ditch you? I'm not saying that he did wrong, but seeing as how 'you'" the unspoken word, 'losers', came across loud and clear to the others, "are all good guys..." she left the rest unspoken, but the Destined got the message.

Kyle shrugged, "Trey never did give us a reason. He simply split off from us and that was that."

Jessie frowned but left it at that.

Trey and Dakarimon exited the center to see the seven still standing where they were. Dakarimon sweatdropped, "Why do I get the feeling that the little relations problem wasn't solved while we were gone?"

"Because it's them," deadpanned Trey.

Dakarimon nodded absently as he stepped between the two groups. "Oi, kids, mind keeping the death glares down? You're looking like you're about to start shooting fire from your eyes." He tightened his grip on his naginata in such a way that everyone could see. "Everyone, calm down before I have to cool you all off."

The promise, which was what it actually was, was quite evident to all, also.

Trey coughed, "Okay, let's go find ourselves some grub!" The others nodded and turned to head back toward the restaurants when they heard something that made them stop.

From the west came two police cars, lights flashing, siren blaring, full alert status, if you pleased. They slid to a stop right in front of the Pokemon center and the officers within jumped out and ran into the Pokemon center.

Casey blinked, "Wonder what's going on."

"I dunno, but it looks big," said Josh.

Kyle nodded and turned toward Team Rocket, "Did you two do something again?"

Jessie and James were edging away from the group trying to get away when Kyle asked the question. They stopped and looked at each other and then at Kyle and the other Destined. Even Trey was looking at them with some curiosity.

Jessie shook her head, "We haven't done anything lately. Trey won't let us."

"And we're too afraid to do something when Trey's not around because Trey wouldn't be very nice," added James.

Meowth simply nodded and edged back a bit more.

Trey shrugged, "Well, it's not as if we should be standing around here or anything. Shall we go?"

A round of affirming nods came from all and they began walking again when a new sound stopped them.

"Hey you! Stop!"

Everyone turned to see a Officer Jenny and two men run toward them. As they got closer, Jenny pointed and shouted, "There they are! Kyle Evanick, James Morana, you two are under arrest!"

James turned and began to run but was quickly grabbed by Dakarimon who hissed in his ear, "If you haven't done anything, don't run, fool!"

James stopped struggling and whispered, "Sorry, old habits, you know?"

Dakarimon grunted but kept a hold on him as the two male officers approached. He quickly palmed James' Pokeballs from him and quickly muttered about protecting them.

Kyle stood still, a look of surprise and confusion on his face as he was grabbed, spun around and cuffed. James had the same happen to him.

Kyle looked at the others, wide-eyed. "Uhm, aren't you going to help?"

Josh shook his head, "I don't know what y'all did, but I'm not getting into this."

"Ditto here." "Wow, Josh actually has some sense!"

Josh glared at the person who had said that (you know who it was), and then shrugged apologetically.

Meanwhile James was looking between Dakarimon and Jessie, his face almost pleading for intervention. Dakarimon shook his head and shrugged too. Jessie looked like she was about to fall apart.

Of everyone, it seemed as if Trey was the calmest. He watched the happenings, and the only thing he said was: "Obey the officers, don't make a scene. Get yourself a public defendant as quickly as possible. Oh, yeah, and make sure you put someone you trust down as your contact."

James and Kyle nodded and allowed themselves to be lead away quietly, the officers taking them in reading their rights.

Officer Jenny turned to the Destined, Trey and Jessie and frowned, "I apologize for this, but those two are wanted in connection with the theft and transport of a rare crystal. I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate their belongings as evidence in the case."

Trey cleared his throat, "Officer Jenny, begging your pardon, but do you have a warrant for their belongings?" The others looked at him with confusion.

Officer Jenny looked at him strangely and nodded, "I do. I didn't expect that a trainer would know much about law though, else I would have shown it immediately." She pulled the document from her side satchel and presented it to Trey quietly.

Trey broke the seal and slowly read over the warrant twice before nodding. "Very well, I'm pretty sure that we can help with this."

Officer Jenny nodded and pulled out a notepad and a pen.

"I'm going to need to get some information from each of you," she looked at Trey, "Mind if I start with you?"

Trey shook his head, "By all means, Officer Jenny."

"Name?"

"Trey John Miller the third."

"Age?"

Trey thought for a moment. "20."

Jenny stopped writing and blinked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I've had a few things that have occurred in my past that negated my ability to complete a Pokemon quest of any sorts when I was younger. After a long conversation with the Hoenn Pokemon Trainers committee and Professor Birch, it was decided to give me the opportunity to compete, even at my age."

The group behind him blinked in surprise. Trey was normally so quiet about his past and all that they had almost forgotten the mystery that consisted of Mr. Miller.

"Alright, I'm going to need to see your Trainers ID and get in touch with Professor Birch about this later, but let's continue." Jenny paused for a moment and reread something on the pad, "Residence?"

"Born, Saffron City, Kanto. Raised in Littleroot Town, Hoenn. Two year stint in Miami, Florida, Human world. Current place of residence, Mauville City Pokemon Center."

This caused Officer Jenny to pause again to think and then continue.

"Relationship to the accused?"

"Friend, ally, co-Digidestined to Kyle Evanick. Ally, trainer, traveling companion to James Morana."

"How long are you planning on staying in Mauville?"

Trey scowled, "Until I find evidence that proves that James Morana and Kyle Evanick are not criminals."

Officer Jenny nodded and turned to the others when Trey cleared his throat. "Officer, I'm fairly sure I speak for everyone, including yourself when I say that standing around here is not advantageous to any of us. We," he motioned with his hand to include everyone, "Have not eaten yet. I'm guessing by the way you're looking since I've mentioned food, that you haven't either." Jenny blushed pink and Trey grinned, "What say we hold off the rest of the questions until we get some lunch?"

Officer Jenny nodded, "Sounds like an excellent idea; and I know just the place to go!" She gave them directions and they split up, Jenny taking her motorbike and the others walking.

They met a little bit later at a small cafe called 'The Golden 'Karp'. Jessie's eye twitched in memory and she shuddered. Ryo glanced at her curiously and she shook her head, "A memory."

Meowth nodded, "Dat's right... Stupid sunk ship."

Trey shrugged, "Well, we can talk about that later. Let's go on in."

He held the door open for everyone and followed, quickly looking around behind him as he did. Inside, they didn't even have to wait for a table; Officer Jenny waved them over to hers and everyone clustered into seats.

Officer Jenny smiled at the gathered group and took off her police hat. "While we're eating, I'm off work in all respects except getting your basic information. I'm Amanda Jenny-Wiles, but just call me Mandy." Murmured sounds of agreement came from around the table, and they quickly ordered.

Ryo started the conversation off, "So, Mandy. You've got to be by far the youngest Officer Jenny on any of the island Police forces."

Mandy blushed, "Yeah, I just graduated from the academy six months ago, so I'm still learning all the ropes."

They stopped talking for a moment as the food and drink was delivered.

"So what kind of questions do you have for us?" asked Josh. Or rather, that was what he said-around a mouthful of food. Ryo stopped Dakarimon from reaching across the table and slapping Josh.

Trey nudged Josh. "It'll be the same as what she asked me. Just answer honestly and hopefully we can get James and Kyle out of jail quickly." He leaned closer to Josh and whispered, "Don't talk with your mouth full else Dakarimon will bounce your head across this place."

Josh gulped and muttered 'sorry' to the table and shrunk down in his seat a bit.

Mandy nodded thanks to Trey who shrugged and sipped his lemonade. She looked around at the others.

"So... who would like to start?"

And with that, introductions went around the table (stopping briefly for dessert) ending with Casey.

Mandy closed her notepad and smiled to the group sitting around her, "Thanks for the help; this should at least get us ready to do some investigation and-" she stopped talking as her phone buzzed.

She glanced around apologetically and answered, "Yes sir? ...Yes sir, I've been with the suspects friends. ...Accomplices? No sir. I have no reason to suspect them. ...I understand, sir. ...Yes sir, I understand the reason." She hung up and rubbed her face in aggravation. "Stupid commissioners..."

Ryo quirked an eyebrow at the comment and she continued. "That was one of the Mauville City commissioners. James and Kyle are no longer considered suspects, seeing as there was evidence in their belongings that are obviously Team Aqua's. They're being held in the police station until the Council members can convene to give them a trial."

Trey frowned and sat back. "That's going against every bit of legal proceedings that I know of. What are they thinking, breaking the law like this?"

Mandy shrugged. "This is different than the normal proceedings, but it's still within the Hoenn treatise on active terrorists." She scowled at the disbelieving looks around the table, "Though barely."

"Well, that means we've got to find out how to stop this from happening," stated Josh.

Everyone looked at Trey who blinked and shook his head, "My understanding of the law isn't even close to being on par with even a rookie officer. Don't mistake a little bit of knowledge for anything more than that."

"So what do we do?" asked Kyle.

Jessie spoke up for the first time, "Are we allowed to see them?"

Mandy shook her head, "Only their legal council and the police officers in charge of the proceedings."

"And you're one of them, aren't you?"

"I was removed from the case."

"Well," Meowth drawled, "Ain't dat just grand?"

"It gets worse. I've been told to stay deliver my profiles on you to headquarters and then proceed to Lavaridge to work there."

Everyone sat still for a moment and then Trey stood up. "I've got to go make a phone call or two. I'll be back as soon as I can." He looked at Dakarimon and shook his head at the unvoiced question, turned, and walked out.

Casey groaned, "Why does he always do that?"

Josh looked at her strangely, "What, you mean just get up and go off with some mysterious last words?"

"Yes!"

Everyone looked at Dakarimon who just chuckled and shook his head, "Trey has more aces up his sleeve then he cares to admit. Just relax and let him do what he wants to do."

Jessie leaned over and muttered to Ryo, "Makes you wonder just what that guy knows that we don't." Ryo grunted in agreement.

Meowth sighed in exasperation. "I don't know about da rest of y'all but dese secrets of his are gettin' annoyin'!"

Dakarimon chose not to say anything. Mandy was curious about Meowth's

statement.

"What do you mean?"

Meowth scratched his ear and shrugged. "Trey seems t' always have some idea of what's goin' on."

Josh nodded, "Come to think of it, he always does seem to show up at the right time."

"I'd think you'd be happy with the help Trey gives," stated Dakarimon.

Josh had the grace to look embarrassed.

Ryo spoke up, "Oh, trust us, we do. It's just that Trey-"

"Trey has reasons for everything that we do," stated the wolf firmly.

While they were having that discussion, Trey was halfway across town listening in on an interesting conversation he had stumbled on.

"All's I'm saying is that there's more Aqua movement here lately than there has been in a while," stated one guy wearing a dark red hoodie. "Something is going on here that we should probably stick around and see what's going on."

While this wasn't all that suspicious, what got his attention was the crimson and black 'M' over a Pokeball. Honestly, how stupid could people be? (that was rhetorical!) Sadly, this display of stupidity was multiplied by the fact that there were six people, four men and two women, all of which were dressed in matching black pants and the hoodies.

One of the female Magma members sighed out loud, "Fine, we'll stick around."

"Let's visit the Game Corner while we're here. I need to get my daughter a doll anyway," one of the older men said with a sheepish grin.

They shared a laugh at the 'whipped' man and walked of, evidently heading for the Game Corner.

Trey stepped back and frowned. Team Aqua was here? He echoed the Magmas question; why?

He needed to find the Destined. But first- his Pokemon. He turned and started jogging toward the Pokemon Center...

Mandy looked at her watch and frowned, "I wonder where Trey is."

Dakarimon grinned, "He'll be here in a few."

Casey scowled at the lupine Digimon, "And how do you know? Are you psychic too?" Dakarimon burst out laughing.

"Actually, psychics wanna be like me," said Dakarimon between gasps of breath.

"What, clueless with an ego the size of an Etemon?" Trey made his appearance with that. He sat back in his seat and grinned. "We can see Kyle and James later this evening, and you, Mandy, are to be there also."

Mandy gaped at the young man sitting there with a grin on his face. "B-but- but how?"

Trey's grin turned into a smirk. "I know some people." He didn't say anything else. Mandy giggled at this. Casey and Josh groaned and Ryo muttered something about 'love at first sight' and then yelped as someone kicked him in the shin.

He glared around the table but no one looked innocent, so Ryo just sat back grumbling about how to get everyone back.

"But anyway, I figured that since we've got, oh, few hours or so, we could look around. They've got a Game Corner here that I want to go to," stated Trey with a grin.

Ryo nodded, "That's a great idea. I've got to get a pres-" he paused and looked around to see everyone grinning at him knowingly, "Yeah, let's just go." He stood up quickly and walked away, leaving the others to laugh at him.

A few moments later, after Trey paid for the tab, the other Destined followed Ryo out, Trey reminding Mandy to meet them at the Police Station in 4 hours. Mandy nodded, not asking questions about what Trey had done. She knew better than that.

Once the Destined got outside, they stretched a bit. "So… where is this Game Corner at, anyway?" Josh asked Trey in a plain tone.

Trey responded, "It's down the road this way." He walked to the west and the others followed, Josh closer to Trey.

In due time, Josh fell back toward Ryo and Casey along the way and asked them quietly, "What do you think Trey actually did?"

Casey and Ryo looked at Josh with a clueless look on their faces, "I think the only ones who know the answer to that are Trey and Dakarimon," Ryo said sagely.

Dakarimon heard this comment and looked back at the Destined. He said to Trey, "I think they're talking about you again."

Trey chuckled knowingly and said, "Let them."

A few minutes later, they happened upon an Arcanine with a young boy on its back. Seeing the group, the boy dismounted and stared at them curiously. The group stopped when it became obvious to them that the boy was interested in them. Trey asked rather quietly to the boy, "Can I help you?"

The boy looked to be around 12 and wore very plain clothes. A black t-shirt bearing the legend 'Smeg-Head', green jeans and trainers adorned his somewhat built body. The boy asked in a somewhat confident voice, "I think you can. Do you know anyone by the name of… Kyle Evanick?"

This question caused the Destined to blink and look at one another confusingly. However, Josh walks up to the boy and says, "You know… you look familiar…"

The boy nodded and said, "Well, I should… Josh."

Josh almost jumped backwards, surprised at the fact that this boy knew him. Casey walked up and she gasped, immediately recognizing the boy who saved her Meganium only a matter of weeks ago. "You… you're here? Alan?"

The young boy smiled gently and nodded. "I am now, Casey."

To those who were 'in the know', read: Josh and Casey, the smile was that of friendship and nothing more, but to those not 'in the know', Trey, Ryo, Jessie, Dakarimon and Meowth , it looked more like one given by someone in love. (Could go either way, actually - ed).

But, his smile wouldn't last long, as his face turned serious. "But I'm not here for pleasantries. I was just leaving Slateport when I heard from some mutual friends of ours that Kyle was thrown in jail on some ridiculous charge. So I doubled back to the Pokémon Centre so I could get Leo here..." He ruffled his Arcanine's mane. "... and we raced straight here. Thanks, Leo. I'll make sure you get something really special. Return!"

"You got here from Slateport that quickly?" Josh asked as Leo was absorbed into his Great Ball.

Alan chuckled. "It's called 'Extreme Speed' for a reason. Helps if you don't stick to the roads, too."

Trey, Josh, Ryo and Casey all looked at one another for quite a few moments, as if they were having a silent conversation. Only Dakarimon kept his eyes on Alan.

Trey looked at Alan and asked, "How do you know Kyle, anyway?"

Alan's face remained serious and he said, "Ran into both Kyle and Casey in Johto a while back. We've been friends ever since."

Josh nodded and said, "He was a great deal of help to not only Kyle and loud-mouth here…" this latter comment earning a glare from Casey, "But also to myself and a few others a while back in Los Angeles."

Alan nodded and turned to Ryo and Trey. "My name is Alan Wilkinson, in case either of you wanted to know."

Ryo held out his hand and a friendly smile. "I'm Ryo Akiyama. It's nice to meet you."

Alan shook his hand and said in a serious tone, "Yeah, but I wish it weren't under these circumstances."

Trey looked at Alan suspiciously and said, "I'm known as Trey Miller." Motioning toward the lupine Digimon next to him, "And this is Dakarimon."

Alan blinked and said, "A Digimon? Here?" Josh spoke up and said, "Yeah… you're about as shocked as we were when we saw Dakarimon for the first time as well."

Dakarimon said in an annoyed tone, "In any case…" He turned to Alan and said, "If you want to see Kyle so badly, come with us. We won't be able to see him for few hours yet, so we're heading over to the Game Corner to have some fun."

Josh slyly added, "Among other things…" playfully ribbing Ryo while saying this. Ryo sweatdropped and he chuckled nervously.

Alan frowned. "I should probably see you there later. After that journey, I should really drop Leo off at the Pokémon Centre."

:Wait: a voice echoed in Alan's head. He frowned and dropped his eyes to his belt of Pokéballs, unconsciously touching one of two Ultra Balls. The watching Destined realized he was in silent communication with the occupant. This time, 'in the know' was dead-on, as both Josh and Casey knew about Kendrix.

-_What is it?_- Alan asked.

:Go with them. Trey is up to something:

Alan's eyes flicked up at Trey briefly. Trey waved at Alan in a comedic fashion. Chuckling quietly, Alan looked down again and asked -_Something? Don't know or can't tell?_-

:Some of Both:

"Sounds like a Rock and Roll band." Alan murmured, drawing looks of confusion from Trey and Dakarimon... and, for that matter, the other Destined.

Kendrix chuckled. :He guards his thoughts well. But he's definitely expecting trouble at the Game Corner.:

-_Can he be trusted?_-

:Short answer, yes. Long answer... well, some of what I can pick up, I shouldn't tell.:

Alan shrugged. -_Far be it for me to stop you from keeping people's secrets_- His gaze switched to the single Great Ball containing Leo. -_You going to be alright?_- he asked, Kendrix relaying thoughts between them.

-_In here? I'll be fine._- Leo replied. -_Just don't be surprised if I'm asleep next time you let me out_-

Alan laughed. -_Pleasant dreams_-

Trey tipped his hat a bit and glanced at Dakarimon curiously as if to ask, 'What's he doing?' Dakarimon subtly shrugged, 'Dunno.'

Dakarimon walked up to Alan and said, "Believe me, you really don't want to get overly involved, or you could end up behind bars like Kyle is."

"Wouldn't actually be the first time I've broken out of a jail cell." Alan commented thoughtfully. As Dakarimon looked at him in confused amusement, Alan shook his head. "Relax Mozart, or your face is going to stick like that."

"Too late." Trey chuckled. "Just stick with us and you'll get to see Kyle soon enough."

"Sure." Alan replied, nodding.

Casey smiled and said quietly, "Don't worry about those two… much."

Ryo and Josh sweatdropped and together, the eight of them went walking off toward the casino.

Along the way, Alan established for Ryo, and partly Trey, that he was a pretty good Pokémon trainer in his own right, and was here competing in the Hoenn League Championships. And that yes, he _was_ aware about the closed Digi-ports and that at some point after Kyle was freed, he'd need to visit the Mauville Gym.

After a couple more minutes, the Destined reached the large, brightly-lit building which was home to Mauville's Game Corner. Its look somewhat mirrored that of the Mauville Gym, but it wasn't the same building. The main difference was the giant roulette wheel spinning on top of the building.

Ryo looked to the others and asked, "Well, shall we go in?" The other Destined nodded quickly and together, they went in.

Jessie looked almost lost without her partner in crime, and Trey placed his a hand on her shoulder before she could enter. She turned to look at him curiously and Trey smiled, "Don't worry, Jessie. We'll have James out as fast as possible."

She smiled hesitantly and walked in with Meowth, leaving Trey, Alan, and Dakarimon standing outside. Trey leaned over toward Alan and spoke softly, "Between you and me, dude, you ain't got the hots for Casey, do ya?"

Dakarimon groaned and facepalmed.

Alan froze, giving the young man a wiry look. "Why do you ask?"

Trey grinned, "I think it was the way you looked at her when you said hello."

"Oh." Alan thought for a moment, then seemed to deflate ever so slightly. "An interesting theory, with two minor drawbacks. One, I like my eardrums the way they are. Two... two, most of my luck with girls tends to get used up by other activities."

With an exaggerated bow, Trey motioned for the door, "After you, then, my good man!"

Alan laughed and entered, leaving Trey and Dakarimon standing outside. As soon as Alan was past the doors, Trey's amusement vanished and he glanced at Dakarimon.

Dakarimon looked at him and nodded, "Something's... off about that guy."

"Anything you can sense?"

"I ain't trained as a psychic," said Dakari.

"Perhaps not, but I learned long ago to trust your senses."

Dakarimon looked at his friend, "I think we should watch him, and that's about it."

Trey sighed and rubbed his chin. "This is going to throw a wrench in the cogs, today."

Dakarimon's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Trey shook his head and entered the Casino, "Just keep James' Pokemon ready to do battle with at a moments notice."

Dakarimon sighed and adjusted the Pokeballs accordingly and entered behind Trey.

At first glance, everything appeared perfectly all right. Trainers were gambling away at the Roulette table and the slot machines, and there was even an active game of Blackjack in the casino. The workers were doing their jobs and serving their customers, and things were peaceful, at least as much as they can be in a place where gambling occurs.

But, a second look would reveal a number of Team Magma members on one side of the casino, near the roulette tables, and a number of Team Aqua members on the other side of the casino, near the slot machines. An uneasy tension filled the casino even more than usual, as the members of both squads seemed to be waiting for a command from above to attack.

Trey did a quick count, as did the other Destined, and they quickly counted 16 members on each side of the equation, so neither side was at an advantage in this fight. Didn't help the Destined one way or another, though, as the 6, 8 if you counted Dakarimon and Jessie, of them were still severely outnumbered by the 32 combined thugs.

Trey looked at the other Destined and nodded. Dakarimon sighed and observed, "It's just a matter of time before this place is going to become very chaotic…" Ryo sighed loudly and said, "Does this mean I can't have what I need here?"

As soon as Ryo said that, the Team Magma members looked over and recognized a couple of the Destined from an earlier encounter. "You…" One of the Magma members pointed at Josh and Casey and growled, "If it weren't for you, we would have taken over Devon Corp!"

As soon as this Magma member opened her big mouth, the other lackeys looked over at the Destined and glared at them. As soon as the Magma goons looked over at the Destined, the Aqua members did the same and looked extremely nonplussed about the whole situation.

An uneasy tension took place between these three opposing forces for a matter of minutes, as each side was merely posturing. The tension could have lasted quite a long time, if it weren't for the fact that suddenly and without warning, an attack came upon the Destined, specifically Trey, and his entire right arm was frozen in a block of ice.

Ryo looked over to see a member of Team Aqua with a Sealeo in front of him, the member smirking. Trey yelled, "That's it! It's on now!" Trey quickly tossed out Aggron and Grovyle. Josh tossed out Blade and Poochyena. Casey threw out Electrike and Aquaris. Ryo, Charmeleon, to thaw Trey's arm and Sableye. Alan threw out a large surprise… a Charmander, which he called Tommy, and a Mudkip of his own, Jyou.

Finally, as Magma and Aqua began launching their Pokemon to go on the offensive against the Destined and the other team, Dakarimon handed James's Pokemon to Jessie, saying quietly, "Take care of them, Jessie." Dakarimon leapt into the fray against the Pokemon.

Meowth looked at Jessie with a confused look and asked, "Are we gonna help dose friends of Trey's?" Jessie nodded and said, "We're going to do it for James!" She then released Seviper and Cacnea into battle. Cacnea, which wanted to give James a hug, was disappointed to find Jessie had released her onto the field.

Dakarimon's efforts were mostly relegated to creating some room for him to work on his more complex attacks. As such, the battle, for him, began with a flurry of punches, kicks and smacks with the handle and flat of the blades of the Naginata. With the expertise Dakarimon was showing in such a large crowd, some might have confused him for some sort of martial arts expert.

The patrons, unfortunately for them, had barely even taken a notice to this fight, as if it was an everyday occurrence in this casino. Bullet Seeds were flying by the Slot Machine players; stray Water Guns flying onto the walls and making things more humid… The sounds of yelling and screaming were all lost on the completely oblivious players. And even when one would get up, they would see the battle and then immediately sit back down again, as if playing provided a cocoon where they could be completely unaware of the outside world.

Trey waded through numerous Pokemon, leading Aggron deeper into the battle. Naturally, though, the Magma members nearest the stairs were backtracking up said stairs, hoping to get away from the Destined for a little while.

Trey growled as the goons made their way upstairs, half-fearing that they were going to take hostages upstairs. As such, he recalled Aggron immediately and turned to Grovyle. "Help out the others, Grovyle. I'm going to head upstairs and make sure things don't get out of hand up there." Grovyle nodded quickly and leapt back into the fray, arm blades at the ready.

Casey noticed Trey going upstairs, but realistically, she had her own problems to worry about. "Electrike, Thundershock!" Electrike shot a tiny spark of electricity at a Spheal of Team Aqua. Spheal yelped in pain and fainted immediately, causing the Aqua goon to gasp.

Josh was, in the meanwhile, battling it out with an Aqua member in some fisticuffs, definitely not Josh's strong suit. Fortunately, thanks to his antagonistic ways with Casey, he was good at dodging, and took little damage, only a couple of scrapes. At one point during the melee, Josh actually picked up Blade and yelled, "Blade, let's show him what real fighting is… Bullet Seed!"

In other words, Josh began using Treecko literally as a machine gun, Bullet Seed attacks causing the man to be fall backwards from the pain. Immediately, his Pokemon, a Carvanha, moved to protect his master, but quickly fell from the continued Bullet Seed attack.

Ryo and Charmeleon were off dealing with Team Magma on the west side of the Game Corner. "Charmeleon…" Ryo's Pokemon nodded and smirked. "Relax… everything's under control." Charmeleon gave Ryo a "thumbs-up" and ran into battle, flames scorching all the way. Not the smartest idea when facing down Magcargo and Slugma, but it was more for the intimidation factor than anything else.

When it actually came to attacking, Charmeleon mostly stuck to Slash attacks against Slugma and Metal Claw attacks against Magcargo. Not the most effective strategy ever, but it was quite all right for the situation.

While this was going on, Ryo sifted behind the counter, looking desperately for a gift for Caryl. The Casino worker, not being as "occupied" as the other patrons, had hidden from the battle. Eventually, he would smile and hold up proudly a Torchic plushie, "Yes! Found it at last!"

That would be a true statement… if it weren't for the fact that a stray Flamethrower attack from the Magcargo Charmeleon was facing came and burned the plushie in his hands. Ryo looked wide-eyed for a minute, and then looked like he was going to cry. Sure, some might have called him lucky that the Flamethrower only took the plushie, but he figured what a certain someone had in store for him without a gift was going to be far worse.

It was at that time that something snapped momentarily in Ryo's mind and he growled quite savagely, stating a simple, "You will pay."

The Magma members suddenly found themselves somehow intimidated by those three simple words, but what they were going through was cake in comparison to what the Magmas upstairs were enduring, having to face Trey Miller in combat, along with Aggron.

Torkoal and Combusken highlighted the Magma forces on this floor, which was, to put it simply, a café where people would normally be able to drink and enjoy a good show. Unfortunately, none of that was possible today, as the Magma goons were interrupting normal business procedures, to say the least.

Trey yelled loudly, "Aggron, make sure those goons don't harm the people in here!" Aggron grunted and turned to the enemy. One Magma thug yelled, "Combusken, nail that Aggron now with Double Kick!" The Combusken leapt into air and as it did, Trey smirked, knowing that Aggron was going to be ready for this highly telegraphed attack.

Aggron grabbed Combusken's leg as soon as it was in range and smirked, throwing the bird at the wall nearby, knocking it unconscious for a few moments. The grunts both winced as Torkoal blew smoke all over the floor, trying to get away as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for them, Trey was completely prepared for this inevitability as he grabbed a Poke Ball. "Go, Espeon!" He tossed out the Poke Ball and out came the purple Psychic-type Eevee evolution.

Trey said simply, "Find the thugs." Espeon closed its eyes and began to search quietly as the Combusken continued to lay on the wall. After a matter of moments, Espeon looked at Aggron and relayed information into its mind. Aggron nodded and stomped into the smoke.

There was absolutely no indication as to whether or not Espeon's information was accurate… at least not until two human screams were heard through the smoke, followed by a couple of punches as the two red-hooded men were sent into the same wall as Combusken. Trey then yelled, "Get that trash out of here!"

Aggron thought for a moment, and then lit up, charging at the wall next to the now unconscious people. The attack caused a chunk of wall nearby to fall off and down into the alley below. Fortunately, there was no one below… and it was even more fortunate, as Trey tossed out the Combusken and Aggron tossed out the two Magma goons out the hole and into a garbage can below…

Trey swept his hands together a couple of times and said simply, "Good riddance."

Back downstairs, the chaos continued, as Ryo was being restrained by Josh to keep him from tearing the Magma grunts a new one after destroying his gift to his girlfriend (As if we didn't all know. –ed).

Josh yelled, "Come on, Ryo… you're better than this." Ryo growled as he struggled, "Let… me… go." Charmeleon stepped in and said in a calm voice, "Let me take care of this…" With that, before Ryo could say a word, Charmeleon blew a large flamethrower directly at the red-hooded men, charring them nicely. Ryo smirked when he saw this, and quit struggling, causing Josh to let go.

Meanwhile, two blue-clad members of Team Aqua, and their Carvanha (who, strangely, appeared to know Levitate) standing in the way of Alan and his two Pokemon.

Alan glared at the two members of Team Aqua and said, "Jyou, let's show them what we're made of… Bubble!" Jyou's attack shot out from his mouth, shooting at the enemy very quickly and dealing damage. The enemy flinched as the Aqua goons didn't look very impressed. They would be momentarily, though, as Alan yelled, "Tommy, Metal Claw!"

Tommy's claws became metallic in looks and he charged at the Pokemon. The attack wasn't supposed to do too much damage, but Tommy specifically aimed for the spots which had been hit by Bubble moments before, figuring them to be tender.

As it turns out, he was absolutely right, for Carvanha yelped in pain before hiding behind its owner. The Aqua grunt looked behind him and yelled out, "What are you waiting for?" The Carvanha looked to be in pain, and when that fact wasn't recognized immediately, Alan got a tad upset.

"Hey, can't you see your Pokemon is suffering?!" The goon responded, "Who asked for your opinion, kid?!" Tommy decided to quash what he thought would be a sudden desire to kill… by using Flamethrower right in the guy's face, creating a flambéed Aqua grunt. Jyou, just to be humorous, used Water Gun right afterwards to put out the Aqua member, washing her and her Pokemon to the back wall.

Alan blinked and looked at his two Pokemon and smiled.

Meanwhile, Blade, Josh's Treecko, was under attack from a Spheal. "Now, Spheal, Ice Beam!" the Aqua grunt called out excitedly. As Treecko got ready to defend and called for his master, Josh gasped and looked around quickly for something to use. Sadly, the best thing he could find was a roulette wheel.

Josh picked up the surprisingly light wheel and quickly jumped in front of Blade, guarding it. Josh looked back as the Ice Beam hit the wheel and said, "Get out of here, Blade…" Treecko shook his head and tried to get up.

The Ice Beam attack continued to pelt the wheel, as Josh looked strained to keep it in place. What he couldn't see was that the Ice Beam was spreading over the other side of the wheel and threatening to come closer to the other side and start freezing Josh's arms.

Meanwhile, Alan, who was currently causing the most problems for the grunts on the ground floor, looked like he was enjoying himself. That is, until a pair of grunts from Team Aqua grabbed him from behind, restraining his arms.

Alan yelled in a loud voice, "Hey! Let me go now!" The goons did not comply and instead threw Alan right out the door as soon as they got there.

The grunts walked away from the door as soon as Alan was out, smirking knowingly between one another. One thing they had forgotten to do… was lock the door. As a result, Alan came back in moments later with a fire in his eyes, looking like he was quite ready to kill someone.

The two grunts who were concerned had not gotten even 5 feet from the door before they felt their heads being knocked together and the two of them were knocked out handily.

Alan then decided to begin his own personal vendetta against the two teams of goons around the casino. "Alan, wait!" Tommy said, not liking the look in his trainer's eyes. "You're not going to accomplish anything more by knocking heads, than you are if you just beat them in Pokemon battle."

"We aren't exactly fighting under League rules right now." Alan replied impatiently.

This somewhat inappropriately timed discussion (at least in Alan's mind) was quickly interrupted by a shrill scream coming from nearby. Alan turned around to see Casey being touched… in a place one would not want an evil person touching, or anyone for that matter. The offender was a red-hooded man from Team Magma, who tried to look like he might have done it on accident.

An instant later, another scream came from across the Game Corner as Jessie found herself in the same situation, except that instead of a Magma grunt, it was an Aqua grunt which was… accosting her. Both of them yelled out almost simultaneously, "Let go of me, you pervert!!!!!" (I believe the point has been driven into the ground enough. –ed)

The crowd in the Game Corner, whether Magma, Aqua, Destined or civilian, all immediately hushed up when they heard those two scream that loudly.

Within moments, from seemingly out of nowhere, both Casey and Jessie produced comically large hammers and used them to knock the offending goons clear across the casino. Both found themselves with stars dancing around their heads.

Casey began "wielding" the hammer and glaring menacingly. "Does anyone else want a piece of me?!" Before they could answer, Casey had knocked her hammer into a slot machine, fortunately unused, and sent it flying, knocking a number of grunts unconscious.

A massive sweatdrop went through the ranks of the Digidestined as they continued fighting, except for Alan, who gave Tommy a look which seemed to say 'well, if _she's_ allowed' before attacking the nearest Magma grunts and quickly beating the shit out of them.

Josh, meanwhile, was still holding the roulette wheel. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly by choice, as the Ice Beam had spread and Josh's hands were frozen to the Wheel, with his arms slowly going after them.

Josh strained and shivered as the onslaught continued. Blade had refused to leave through this entire sequence, and Josh had refused to stop protecting his Pokemon from the cold. It was a stunning display of complete and total stubbornness, Josh's loyalty to his Pokemon overriding common sense.

Josh said, "B-b-b-b-b-blade, get out of here now…" Treecko shook his head, "Treecko, tree." Josh glared and said, "It won't be much longer until I'm frozen solid… get out of here while you c-c-c-c-c-can."

Blade adamantly refused and as the ice ran up Josh's arms, he became more and more desperate, trying to find a way to help his master. He had already tried using Bullet Seed, but only succeeded in having the seeds bounce all over the place.

It was at about that moment that a green glow began to emanate, unnoticed, from Alan's pocket, one of his Digimentals hungrily devouring the energy Josh was giving it. Enough energy, in fact, that it was able to give some back...

Blade began to glow pure white as Josh gasped. The light was not visible to anyone else in the casino, mostly because they weren't looking in Josh's direction.

Within moments, the form of Treecko began to grow and morph into a leaner, much taller form which was still quite green; its skin hardening and taking on a metallic sheen, and now had little blades which looked more like they belonged on a ninja than a Pokemon. These blades were made from leaves, at least originally.

"Grovyle." Was all the creature said to his trainer after the light of evolution died down.

Josh gasped and said in his standard shivering voice, "B-b-b-b-Blade?" he asked, noticing the symbol for Loyalty on his Pokemon's forehead.

The new Grovyle nodded and immediately brandished his Leaf Blade and sliced open the ice a bit at a time until Josh's arms and hands were free and Josh brought them into his body, trying to prevent frostbite.

Meanwhile, Blade leapt up as soon as the wheel went down and struck down the Spheal with a quick strike using his Leaf Blade. The Spheal quickly and efficiently went down. Before the Aqua grunt could say or do anything, Blade was on top of him and knocked him senseless with a knock to the head.

Trey came back downstairs right around then and nodded at the general condition of the place, obviously satisfied with the chaos around him.

The members of both criminal teams were tending to their own, not believing that they could be (and yet, had been) beaten. Trey recalled Aggron and Grovyle, while the other Destined recalled their own Pokemon.

Team Aqua picked up its own members, 6 of them helping the other 10 as they stumbled out. "You'll pay for this, you bunch of fools…" Josh and Alan wanted to pursue them, but were held back by Trey. "If you go after them now out on the streets, you're just giving the Police reason to arrest the two of you."

"I'm not sure I've got the energy left anyway." Alan admitted quietly. "Fortunately, they don't have to know that."

Josh just sighed and faced the hurt Team Magma who was trying to do the exact same thing. The only problem was that only one of them was left unharmed, so the process was a lot more… tedious, and time-consuming.

The Destined watched this process silently as the Magma grunt went in and out… and in and out. As she took out the last member of her team, she said, "I swear to you, we will have our revenge, meddlers!"

Many of the Destined could do nothing but sweatdrop and shake their heads as the two teams finished their escape. The Game Corner manager walked up and smiled, shaking the hands of each member of the Destined. "On behalf of this Game Corner, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for getting rid of those thugs, though I do wish it was with less property damage…"

A quick look around would reveal blackjack tables flipped over, coins everywhere, slot machines ripped out of place, and casino patrons frantically scrambling to take advantage. "Ahem." Both Dakarimon and Alan glared at them, causing the patrons to stop and stand up sheepishly.

The woman smiled and said in a sincere tone, "I would like you to have a gift, on behalf of our place." She handed them a set of plushies, including two of each of the three "starter Pokemon" of Hoenn, plus a Pikachu and an Eevee. Naturally, Ryo took hold of a Torchic as quickly as possible and hugged it tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jessie snagged the Eevee for herself, Alan and Casey took a Mudkip each and Josh and Trey collected the two Treecko's.

Everyone else sweatdropped massively at Ryo's enthusiasm as they took their plushies, and then Trey said in a flat voice, "I believe I know where we're going next…" Dakarimon looked at the other Destined and asked, "What time is it right now?"

A quick glance at the clock would reveal that it was around 5 PM at night. Alan smiled. "It's time to go see Kyle, isn't it?" Dakarimon nodded in agreement. "It sure is. Let's head over to the police station."

"Great. Then we can give him this!" Casey declared, holding up the remaining Torchic plushie.

"And James this one." Jessie agreed, holding up the Pikachu plushie.

-Non-descript Building on west side of town-

The blue-garbed Aqua members laid inside the building, mostly on beds, resting from their beatings. The two members who were up and about were busy dialing their HQ. Moments later, a shadowy figure appeared on the phone.

"How did the operation go?" a female voice asked the two grunts on the other end.

One grunt breathed heavily as he reported in, "Ma'am, we didn't end up defeating Team Magma. They… were much tougher than we gave them credit for."

The female voice came out with the sound of disgust. "I would strongly suggest that you do not lose against Team Magma in the future, lest your jobs be put in jeopardy."

Both grunts gulped, but the second grunt chimed in, "We would have gotten them, if it weren't for a bunch of meddling kids." The shadowy figure didn't say anything for a moment, but then said, "Did any of these kids match this description?" A picture of Trey appeared on-screen.

The first grunt said quickly, "Yes, yes he was there!" The female voice then said in a flat voice, "Then, I'm guessing that there were some other children there too… why those police 'officers' didn't take care of all of our problems is beyond me…"

The second grunt said quickly, "Maybe something about the fact that only that Evanick child had evidence of being aligned with us?"

The shadowy figure shook her head, "Never mind." After a moment's pause, she smirked. "But, do feel free to pass on a message for me…"

The grunts both saluted and said, "Whatever you say, Commander."

-Another Non-descript Building on East side of Town-

The single Magma grunt still conscious placed all of the injured red-hooded men and women onto beds and then sighed after doing so. "That was brutal," the woman said in a tone which suggested exhaustion.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure came on a nearby monitor. A male voice spoke out, "So, how did it go over at the Game Corner?" The grunt turned around with a distraught look on her face. "We sustained great injuries when we faced Team Aqua, sir."

The shadowy figure paused for a matter of moments to make the grunt more nervous before saying, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire you now," in a tone which suggested great impatience.

The grunt grasped at straws mentally for a number of moments before finally settling on the answer, "Team Aqua wasn't alone. We got interfered with by those kids from earlier; the ones who stopped our plans for Devon Corporation."

After a moment, the shadowy figure spoke in a way which indicated great disapproval of their efforts. "You had best figure out what to do about those kids. They have been getting in the way far too much, but for now, we have bigger things to concern ourselves with. Pull out as soon as possible."

The Magma goon nodded and was about to "hang up" when the shadowy figure said, "Oh, and don't worry about those kids. I'll see to it that they suffer for this humiliation." The grunt nodded and saluted, "Understood, sir."

-Mauville City Police Station, 20 minutes later-

The Digidestined stood in front of the station, all giving not well-disguised looks of worry about the condition in which they would find their ally and friend, Kyle Evanick. Jessie and Meowth looked worried about James.

Meowth spoke up and said, "Do ya think dat James is gonna be all right?"

Jessie looked at Meowth and nodded. "He'll be just fine. He's a big boy."

Trey looked at both of them and said in a very serious tone, "We'll find a way to get him out of there. Don't worry about that."

They stepped inside and were immediately greeted by Mandy from earlier in the afternoon. "Glad you could make it. Five minutes more and I'm not sure if the Chief would have even let you in to see them."

Trey frowned and looked at Mandy. "I wonder why the Chief is so intent on separating us from our friends." Jessie looked at Meowth and said, "Though, if the Chief knew who some of us were, he probably wouldn't let us in anyway."

Mandy looked back and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?" Meowth jumped on Jessie's shoulder and covered her mouth, "N-nothing. Nothing at all."

Mandy raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but shrugged it off… for now. She looked at Alan. "I don't remember seeing you before."

"Alan Wilkinson." he replied in introduction. "I got into town a couple of hours ago after hearing about Kyle. Was planning to catch up to him sooner or later, but recent events forced me to make it sooner."

"Amanda Jenny-Wiles. Call me Mandy." Mandy blinked and snapped her fingers. "I remember now! You were in the Silver Conference!" She frowned. "You know, I was betting on you to win that. You cost me 50 dollars went you lost in the semi's."

Alan blushed scarlet. "Uh, sorry about that." he said. "It was only my second tournament, though."

"You saw the Silver Conference?" Josh asked MANDY, surprised.

"They televised it." Ryo replied simply. The other Destined grinned as everyone heard Alan muttering to himself. ("I am not Brock. I am not Brock.")

"It's not as popular here as it is in Johto," Mandy continued, giggling quietly at the thought (_Every_ Officer Jenny has heard of Brock), "but some of us like to keep an eye on foreign talent like these two." She waved her arm to encompass both Alan and Ryo. "Anyway, Do you know the other accused, James?"

Alan nodded. "We've met. I'd like to think he was a friend, but the truth is we've been out of contact for a while."

They reached the visitors check-in desk. "If it helps," Casey said to Alan, "Trey saw her first."

"Shut up." Trey said, blushing.

Following some tedious paperwork on their part (the standard waivers to sue if they should get hurt, proof of identification, and all the other things which made visiting someone in jail a bit more work than it really should have been), the Destined, as well as Jessie and Meowth, are taken back to a special room with a table and a whole lot of chairs. They sit down while the officer announces, "I'll be back in a couple minutes with your friends."

Two officers march down the hall as the Destined looked at one another, wondering if the cops would even bother to bring forth Kyle and James. Alan, in fact, said after 3 minutes of waiting, "If they don't come soon…" and cracked his knuckles.

Just as Alan said this, the door opened and Josh looked at Alan, saying flatly, "Speak of the devil."

Everyone smiled as they heard the door open, but the smiles were quickly wiped off their faces as they quite clearly heard the sound of clanging chains as Kyle and James were are brought in, arms behind their backs, and feet in shackles.

The two of them are sat down and one of the accompanying officers looked down at his watch. "You have 1 hour." The cops left as Alan glared at the back of their heads and Trey raised an eyebrow and chuckled a bit. Casey walked over to Kyle and looked behind his back, seeing a different sort of handcuffs.

A metallic frame kept Kyle and James's hands separated from one another, yet together, effectively immobilizing their arms. Casey winced and said, "I feel sorry for you, Kyle."

Kyle gave off a light smile of annoyance. "I didn't ask for your sympathy, Casey." Casey shrugged. "Whatever." Ryo looked at Kyle and asked, "So… how is it looking?" James responded, "Like we're going to be going to trial."

Trey frowned and he shook his head. "You shouldn't be heading to trial yet… there's a whole process to go through before you head to court." Jessie added dejectedly, "Why shouldn't they be sending James to trial? He's part of Team Rocket."

The fact that Jessie said those exact words caused Josh and Ryo to blink, mostly because Kyle seemed to be getting along with James. Ryo said, "Um… Kyle, you do realize you're sitting next to James, one of our enemies, right?"

Kyle looked at James and shrugged his arms. "Eh, I don't exactly look at him that way now." Josh stared at Kyle blankly and asked, "But didn't you think that it was at least partly his fault that you're in this mess in the first place?"

Jessie glared at Josh and asked sharply, "What are you saying?!" Josh calmly responded as he looked to all three of them, "Only that you three have been the cause of more problems for us than Team Aqua and Team Magma combined."

Jessie and Meowth smiled as Meowth boasted, "If it's one ting Team Rocket prides itself on, it's persistence!"

Trey shook his head as Dakarimon breathed a mushroom-cloud sigh. Dakarimon said, "I don't think that was meant as a compliment you two." Jessie said proudly, "Back-handed or not, it's still a testament to our perseverance."

Kyle cleared his throat rather loudly, "Ahem!" as he tried to draw the conversation back to the original point. As soon as Alan heard Kyle, he immediately shut everyone else up by saying in a loud voice as to talk over everyone, "Everyone, be quiet, **NOW!**"

The response to Alan's "request" was immediate as a hush fell over the collected members of the Destined and Team Rocket… except for Trey and Dakarimon, whom both laughed their heads off. Alan glared at the two of them, annoyed at being laughed at. But they didn't care.

"Can I borrow this?" Alan asked. Since he was too busy laughing to look, this was Dakarimon's only warning before Casey's hammer slammed into his skull, knocking him to the floor senseless for a moment.

Then the moment passed and he was _very_ angry.

The other Digidestined (and Team Rocket) watched in horrified fascination as Dakarimon rose, eyes slitted, to see Alan, Casey's hammer in his hands, all the worries and frustrations of Kyle and James's situation manifesting in a 'Yeah, just _try_ it pal' expression. Only Trey looked on in calm amusement at what looked like the most spectacular suicide attempt in PokeWorld history.

On the other hand, both he and Dakarimon had stopped laughing, which he supposed was the point.

"Dakari." Trey said. Dakarimon looked at him and Trey shook his head. There was a long pause.

"Fine." Dakarimon growled eventually. Everyone relaxed.

Kyle stared at them for a few moments before he smiled and said, "Thanks, Alan."

"Welcome." Alan replied simply, returning Casey's hammer.

Kyle turned to the others and said, "In any case, I initially thought that James might have been partly responsible, until I actually got to know him once we were thrown in the same cell together…"

-Flashback-

The pair of trainers, Kyle and James, were led into the jail, both of them rather forcefully.

The two of them had been placed in special handcuffs, a metallic frame which encased their wrists and kept the hands locked together, yet separated by enough room to disallow interaction between hands. For this reason alone, the cops "allowed" the two of them to have their hands locked in front of them.

"We can walk, you know." Kyle muttered, only for one of the male police to glare at him.

"Shut up. Now get in there!" Shoving Kyle and James into the cell as well as placing shackles around their legs as they were forced to sit down. Groaning from the pain, he was surprised when James helped him up onto the bench. "Thanks... I think."

As the police left except for one female officer, James turned to Kyle. "You're welcome."

Kyle blinked. For some reason James was actually behaving like a decent person. A thought came to him... "James... How _did_ you join up with Team Rocket? It seems if you're actually away from Jessie, you're actually a decent person. So, how about it?"

He shrugged. "I guess I'll tell you. It beats waiting for Trey and the others to rescue us. This goes back years ago, when I was twelve. You see, unlike most people I was born into a rich family, and things went ok until I flunked out of Pokemon Tech."

Kyle gave him an odd look. "Pokemon Tech? What's that?"

"It's a Kanto Pokemon boarding school where really only people whose parents have a lot of money can afford it. It's located somewhere between Cerulean and Vermillion City. Anyway, I met Jessie there on my first day, and that's also where I met Koffing, my first Pokemon. Though we studied and our future seemed bright that night, we ended up getting the lowest scores in the history of the school!"

Kyle shook his head. "You see, this why I hate school. People put too much importance on scores. What happened next?"

"Ashamed of our scores, Jessie and I left the school. We came across a Bike gang and stayed with them for a few years but soon we were desperate for money and apparently Team Rocket was hiring. Considering our options, we had no choice but to join."

Kyle nodded in understanding, seeing the desperation in their joining of Team Rocket. "That actually explains a few things and Ash, Brock, and Tracey told me some other things you guys have done as well. Like Jessie being a nurse and you being forced to marry someone who looked just like Jessie named Jessibelle."

James shuddered. "Please don't mention her again, ok?" Kyle nodded. "Speaking of something, what is it between you and that girl Casey?" James asked in a most curious voice.

Kyle looked down at the floor and responded in a serious tone, "Casey? She's an argumentative loudmouth who constantly bugs me about sports, especially baseball. If she wasn't my DNA partner I probably would just ignore her. Regardless of what Tsukaimon, my sister Nicole and some others think, she's _not_ my girlfriend. I can barely tolerate her. She's also prone to poses for the Electabuzz. What about you and Jessie?"

James flinched for a moment from the sudden question, but then replied, "Oh. Her. Well, she can be a pain to deal with but... she's my best friend. Only she and Meowth are my only real friends. She can be a loudmouth sometimes but I've learned to deal with it. Unlike Jessie who has a huge problem with Cassidy, I have nothing against Butch."

After a few moments of silence, Kyle looked at James and asked, "Cassidy and Butch? I remember them, didn't they try to steal the Pokemon in Professor Oak's lab?"

James looked back at Kyle and said, "I guess so. We actually haven't been told what they were up to since the whole Lugia thing."

Conversation would shift from topic to topic over the next two hours as James and Kyle talked about the entire gambit of topics, from individual Destined and Team Rocket members, to Pokemon Training, to what James knows about Trey that they don't, which, by the way, is nothing.

Kyle and James began to realize that the two of them had more in common than the two of them may have realized, and therefore, maybe there was some sort of possible friendship which was possible between them.

This feeling was so strong within Kyle that he held out his cuffed hands unexpectedly, as if expecting some sort of response from James. James blinked and asked, "What do you want, Kyle?" Kyle smiled gently and replied, "A deal. You stop calling me a twerp, and I'll stop calling you an idiot. Plus, maybe this could be a truce of sorts between us."

James thought about this for a minute and asked, "You sure about this? You know Jessie and Meowth aren't going to stop coming after you, as well as the others." Kyle continued smiling and said, "I know. But, maybe this could also act as a foundation for a strong friendship; for even though we come from different worlds, different lives, and different sets of circumstances; I do see some similarity between us."

James blinked a couple of times confusedly before he extended his own cuffed hands and, in the most awkward showing of a handshake ever, they shook on the deal that Kyle laid out, a very simple one.

-End Flashback-

Trey smiled as the Destined all looked at one another curiously. Clearly, Trey approved of this new friendship.

"Hope for you two yet." Alan commented with a smile of his own. Jessie opened her mouth to protest that it wasn't anything to do with her, and then closed to again when she realized Alan had been referring to Kyle.

The other Destined weren't necessarily disapproving, but they were confused.

Trey then looked at Kyle and changed the subject, "We will find out why you're in here, and soon. There has got to be some explanation for this."

Kyle nodded. "Don't worry about it too much. It's not like we're going to trial tomorrow. The justice system isn't that efficient."

James nodded and grinned stupidly, "I ought to know, after all." Jessie and Meowth glared at James, who looked at the two of them and asked, "What?"

Around that time, the officers came back in and said, "Sorry, but your time is up." The Destined nodded as Alan growled a bit, but they knew how long they had, so this didn't come as an enormous surprise.

Kyle and James were led back, presumably to their cells, and the Destined were led out of the Police Station.

On the way out, Trey leaned close to Alan. "It was interesting the way you clobbered Dakarimon like that. That takes either great stupidity or a lot of balls."

"Ball." Alan corrected absently, too preoccupied plotting what he'd like to do to the Mauville Police Force. Behind them, Casey looked startled, but quickly hid it.

Trey chuckled. "Well, can I give you a friendly piece of advice?"

This got Alan's attention and he looked round. "Hmm?"

Taking that as a 'yes' Trey continued. "I've known Dakarimon for many years, since I was seven. I know what he's capable of... and he's killed people for doing less."

Alan glanced over to make sure Dakarimon was listening as the wolf collected his naginata, then met Trey's gaze. "So have I."

As soon as they were outside, Ryo said, "Let's come back again tomorrow, after a good night's sleep, and then figure out our next move."

The other Destined nodded, as did Jessie and Meowth, who, despite their best judgment, decided it would best to leave this to the non-criminals in the group.

As the two of them tried to slink away, Dakarimon grabbed Meowth and picked him up, while Trey put his hand on Jessie's shoulder and led her back to the others. As Trey put it, "You can put up with the 'twerps' for one night."

Jessie and Meowth thought for a moment and nodded as they all went toward the Pokemon Center to get rested up from their big day today, and for what might be an even more interesting day tomorrow.

But, not too far from the police station, a mysterious figure stood in the shadows and waited until all the Destined were well out of sight. Once that was done, the person used a cell-phone to make a call…

-Mauville Police Station-

The chief of police sat there, working on a lot of paperwork of general nature when suddenly the phone rang. The chief looked at the phone, gulped, and answered it. "Hello?"

A clearly altered voice came through the phone. "Why didn't you take care of all of our problems, Chief? I thought we had an arrangement."

The Chief said in his best "gruff" voice, "I'm sorry, but without evidence which could be used in court, it was best to not keep them in custody. Don't want to raise any real suspicions."

The voice spoke out, "Fine. But, the boss does warn you to keep in mind our objective must be met, lest there be consequences…"

The Chief gulped and said, "Please… anything but that!"

The altered voice chuckled, "In that case, I would suggest you follow this next set of instructions carefully…"

The Chief listened intently, but when he heard what needed to be done, he asked, "Won't that raise suspicions as well?"

The voice said, "Perhaps, but you can just say it's more important to put terrorists on trial than common criminals. Understand?"

The Chief nodded, "Yes, sir." The altered voice sounded like it was pleased to hear this, "Excellent. Now, don't disappoint me!" The phone hung up and the Chief, after a few moments, put down the phone and sighed.

The Chief looked back toward the cells and thought to himself, Children, please forgive me for what I must do… He then typed in some information and then sighed, looking down at the floor.

-The Following Morning, 6:50 am, Mauville Police Station-

After a long night without much sleep for many of them, the party of

Trey, Jessie, Meowth, Ryo, Casey, Alan and Josh all approached the station, which, strangely enough, had Mandy standing in front of it, looking off toward the other side of town.

As they approached, Trey yelled out, "Hey!" Mandy snapped out of her stupor at that moment and shook her head a couple of times, "Hey there!" Ryo looked at Mandy strangely and asked, "What exactly were you looking at?"

Mandy blinked, and then sighed, "I just can't believe how aggressive the Chief and everyone are being about your friends there." Alan flinched for a moment, somehow having a feeling of what Mandy was going to say when he asked the question, "What makes you say that?"

The answer: "Kyle and James have been taken to the courthouse to stand trial… today!"

Every last one of the Destined face-faulted and yelled, "WHAT?!?!"

"Wonderful." Alan sighed as they got up. "Looks like Kyle jinxed them."

Mandy nodded. "And what's worse is that the trial is slated to begin at around 7 am."

Josh looked at his watch and yelled, "That's ten minutes from now!"

A collective groan rose from the other Destined. "Trey," Ryo spoke up, "Next time be a little quicker to ask a girl for her number."

"Shut up." Trey replied as he and Mandy blushed, the latter more because she hadn't thought to call them at the Pokemon Center.

"Wait a minute!" Casey yelped. She and Alan looked at each other, the same thought on both their minds. "Alan, do you still have...?"

"Yep." Alan replied. "Go, Leo!"

Within moments, out came the mighty fire-dog with a mighty roar. Alan looked at him and said, "Leo, we need to get to the courthouse now." Of course, there were far too many of them to fit on the Arcanine's back at one time, which was a bit of a problem. Fortunately, there was a solution.

Trey snapped his fingers and said, "How about three of us at a time ride Leo, while the rest of us run toward the courthouse, so that in this way, each round-trip will be shorter and shorter until all of us are there."

Alan blinked and then looked at Leo, who nodded before Alan could even ask the question, bending down to allow his master to get on. Alan was barely settled before he turned and reached down to help Mandy up, his eyes automatically glancing at the pink 'Hello Kitty' panties under her skirt as she climbed up. The others noticed this and Casey growled audibly. Mandy would have commented on this herself, but it was clear from his impatient, slightly glazed expression that Alan's mind was already half-way to their destination. Then Trey got on, wrapping his arms around Mandy's waist and briefly turning her brains to mush.

And thus began an insane sequence of running back and forth for Leo which would eventually land all the Destined, Jessie and Meowth, and Mandy in front of the courthouse with 2 minutes to spare.

Arcanine was a bit tired, but Alan recalled him, promising "a treat" later on in the day as the Destined ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

The courthouse had a number of corridors in it and, after quickly checking in, the Destined ran about these corridors somewhat lost. It wasn't until they found a door where a bailiff was about to close the door that they knew where they were.

Casey yelled out, "Wait!" The bailiff blinked and allowed the Destined into the courtroom. Fortunately for them, it was the right courtroom, as they could clearly make out Kyle and James sitting at the Defendant's place.

Alan growled a bit as he could clearly see their arms still behind their backs, but that was the least of their concerns now…

Coming up: Kyle and James stand trial for their "terrorist ways". But will they end up in the big house? Or will the Digidestined find a way to assist their friend in his time of need? The answers, and more to come on the next full episode of Digicross Advanced, the first of Season 2!

Next Episode: We look back at the worst moments of Season 1 and introduce a new author to the Digicross Advanced staff! Stay tuned for the Season 1 Outtakes Special, the season finale of Digicross Advanced!


	32. Omake 2: DCA Bloopers

Narrator: In the taping of a TV show, many brilliant moments can happen. Writing can be excellent, the actors nail their lines, and all elements of chaos proceed as planned. But then, sometimes, things can go horribly, horribly wrong. That is what today's final episode of Season 1 is all about, looking back on those moments we'd much rather forget, but not enough to keep them from the viewers. This is "Digicross Advanced Bloopers"!

Omake 2: "Digicross Advanced Bloopers, Season 1"

Episode written by Josh Johannesen

Outtake ideas submitted by Trey Miller, Ninetalesuk, Patrick O'Shea

Narrator: Today, we join our "triad of authors" in a special digital environment created for them by their staff editor, Scott Evans. It mirrors that which was used by Scott during his fight against Parisimon. For those not in the know, read Digicross Tamers Special Episode 1. … I just made $65. Or buy Digimon World 3… I just made another $100.

A hand from off-stage hands Narrator $165, which he begins to count.

The 3 main authors, Trey Miller, Josh Johannesen, and for the first time, Kyle Evanick, outside of the shadows talk inside of a "tavern" of sorts on the outskirts of the town.

Kyle Evanick looked at Josh and said in a happy voice, "This has been one crazy season, huh?" Trey nodded. "Though, I spent a lot longer chained to that desk working on Episode 30 than I would have liked."

Josh looked at Trey and said, "Yeah, you would have thought the heat would have motivated you…" Trey shrugged. "Guess I got used to it over time…"

Josh held up a mug filled with a mystery liquid. "Here's to us. May all the seasons proceed as fluidly as this one!" Kyle and Trey held up their mugs as well, "Cheers!" both yelled before beginning to drink.

After the drink, Trey turned to Kyle and Josh and said in a calm voice, "I have an announcement to make…" He stood up as he made this claim, "After I complete Episode 31, I will no longer be an author for this series full-time."

Both Josh and Kyle looked at each other, and then Kyle asked, "But… does that mean?"

Before Kyle could finish his question, Trey shook his head, "Of course not, Kyle. I'll remain here at Digicross Advanced Enterprises… just as a storyline consultant as opposed to an outright author."

Kyle nodded, but then Trey smirked and added, "Besides, I have a more… pressing assignment to begin after my mini-series is concluded."

Josh smiled and patted Trey on the back. "But, I guess that means we need to find a new author to take your place in the upcoming season…" Trey blinked and asked, "Do you really need 3 authors?"

Josh nodded, "Of course. If it were just myself and Kyle, nothing would EVER get done."

Kyle chuckled and shook his head, lightly slapping Josh out of sarcasm. Josh chuckled and said with a smile, "All right, I had that one coming."

Trey then asked, "But, if you're going to bring in someone new… who are you going to sucker into this job?" Kyle and Josh thought for a minute and Kyle observed, "Well, the big boss is busy with two series of his own…" Josh nodded, "True, we can't disturb him with something like this."

A voice from nowhere which sounded like Scott asked, "Why don't you ask the new intern? He's been telling about how excited he's going to be to move up the corporate ladder and be able to take part in the production of a television series such as this one."

Kyle chuckled and said with a tone of happiness in his voice, "I can't say I'm surprised. The boy has always been a pretty good author, at least as long as I've known him." Trey frowned and replied, "I don't know, though… his questionable morals are going to be the cornerstone of some controversies if we let him do it."

Josh sighed and said, "Look, let's see if we can't convince the big boss to give him a chance… if we can't then we won't. Simple as that."

Both Trey and Kyle could agree to this proposal as Josh smiled, "And in either case, that's NOT why we're here today! We're here to celebrate the end of Season 1 of Digicross Advanced… by showing off some of the worst moments in the show's history that didn't make air."

Kyle smiled evilly, "Oh, you mean the Outtake reel…"

Trey chuckled as did Josh. Josh said in a mischievous voice, "Yep. Those moments our actors would much rather forget are going to be shared with the folks at home… and then, we'll begin Season 2 with the final two parts of Trey's Crossroads of Hoenn mini-series."

Kyle nodded, "Well, let's start with a recent episode of the series… In fact, the most recent, the 2nd part of Trey's Crossroads of Hoenn…" Josh chuckled, "Oh, yeah… this was an idea which we used… sort of. The only problem was that at the time, I had decided, since Trey didn't write the whole thing, to go a bit overboard…"

The scene was when Kyle and James were being brought into the room where the Destined and Team Rocket were waiting to visit with their arrested friends. But, Josh, the producer, had decided to take things a little bit too far…

-Take 1-

The door opened into the visiting room and all of a sudden, the Destined got a good look at their friends. However, Jessie and Meowth began to laugh when they saw James. Both Kyle and James had been bound from head to toe in chains. Kyle tried to walk, but ended up falling over, causing Josh and Casey to break out into laughter.

Kyle yelled, "This isn't funny!" Casey replied, "Funny is in the eye of the beholder!" That remark caused even Dakarimon to break a smile. James glared at the lot of them and then yelled off-stage, "I think this is a little much…" The voice of the producer yelled, "It'll be fine! You and Kyle just have to get used to it is all!"

-Take 2-

The Destined once more sit in the visiting room waiting for their friends to show up, along with Jessie and Meowth. Moments later, the door opens and in walks, or more accurately, waddles James. He is able to get about 1 foot in the door before he falls over, causing another riot of laughter throughout the studio.

James whined, "Quit laughing at me!" Kyle sweatdropped and observed calmly, "I told you this would be too much." James squirmed on the floor like a little worm, causing some more laughter.

Kyle added to the hilarity by suggesting, "The only way we're getting in this room in this get-up is if our producer hires a forklift and uses that." The producer could be heard over the loudspeaker again, "You'll be fine!"

-Take 3-

Kyle and James both attempt to waddle in at the same time, but a strange series of events takes place, mostly involving both tripping over one another en route to their chairs, and as a result, both end up on top of each other.

Casey looked at the two of them and chuckled, asking, "Hey, could this result in a new series?"

Jessie looked at Casey with a raised eyebrow and asked, "What are you talking about?" Casey giggled and said, "I say we put together moments like this and call it… 'Digicross gone wild'."

This very sarcastic comment caused the entire crew to break out in laughter, mostly because of how plausible the idea actually sounded. Kyle and James both sweatdropped and Ryo sat back in his chair and said, "I wouldn't touch that concept with a ten-foot pole."

Charmeleon popped out of his Poke Ball moments later and patted Ryo on the back. "Smartest thing you've said all day." Ryo smiled. "Thanks…" Then he realized what Charmeleon just said. "Hey!" Charmeleon chuckled.

-Take 4-

To make things easier, Kyle had been placed right next to his chair so that he would not have to move at all, except having to sit down. The only problem was that James was nowhere to be found. The producer could be heard over the loudspeaker asking, "Where is James at?"

One of the crew on-stage responded, "James said he had to use the restroom." The producer could be heard mumbling, "Lousy, stupid idea…"

James comes back on set moments later, but missing a major feature. "Um… where are those chains?" the Director asked. James looked down at himself and shrugged, looking to the cast. "Where's my chains at?" Everyone sweatdropped, partly because James had managed to lose the chains somehow, and mostly at his attempt to be hip or cool or something like that.

-Take 5-

Making things doubly easier was the fact that for this take, both Kyle and James were stood up right next to their chairs, removing the possibility of them falling over. But, when the two of them go to sit down, the chains around their legs also keep them from being able to sit down, causing Kyle and James to sweatdrop again.

After a routine yelling at by the writers of the show, Josh agreed to use the 'lighter' version actually seen in Episode 30.

-Back in the Virtual Pub-

Josh chuckled and looked at Trey and Kyle. "Not one of my best ideas, huh?" Josh asked jokingly. Trey and Kyle both shook their heads. Trey then spoke up and said, "Speaking of bad ideas, remember what happened with that snare trap back during the first part of the Crossroads of Hoenn?"

Josh and Kyle looked at one another and chuckled. "Ah, yes." Josh looked at Trey and pointed out, "It wasn't necessarily a bad idea, Trey." Kyle added, "It just had a lot of potential for… shall we say… chaos?"

Trey chuckled quite loudly before taking another drink. "And just about every way it could have gone wrong occurred during our taping during Episode 29."

This scene is where the Digidestined fall into a trap just outside of Mauville City. In order to trap the Destined, Team Rocket utilized the classic snare trap to leave the Digidestined hanging, pun most certainly intended. However, ropes sometimes have a tendancy to not quite do what you want them to, as these clips will show.

-Take 1-

The 4 Destined hung from their ropes, being 'subjected' to the Team Rocket Motto, having heard it well over 20 times before this episode. Moments later, a voice came from the nearby bushes. "Huh… what are these ropes doing in the road?" 4 dull twangs came moments later and the 4 Destined fell to the ground.

However, less than 10 seconds later, a loud yelp came from those very same bushes. When that happened, Trey blinked and walked over to said bushes, looking inside before sweatdropping momentarily… and then he began to laugh his head off when he saw the sight on the other side… Dakarimon hanging from a tree in a snare of his own.

Dakarimon's naginata was planted firmly in the ground below, and Dakarimon tried to reach up and get at the loop of rope around his ankle. When that didn't work, he asked weakly, "Help?" This caused pretty much everyone else on set to begin laughing with varying degress of frequency.

Trey asked Dakarimon, "How in the world did this happen?" Dakarimon responded by saying, "My guess is that somehow the rope had been tricked out…" The crew sweatdropped and began talking with one another to see if anyone had bothered to check the ropes before that first take. It was decided that they needed to replace the rope before Take 2 began…

-Take 2-

The take began just as it did before, with the annoying Rockets giving their motto, and Trey pissing the heck out of them by interrupting. After a few moments, the standard voice of Dakarimon came from the bushes. "Huh… what are these ropes doing in the road?" A couple moments later, the standard dull twangs came from the background.

… And then nothing else happened. The 4 Destined remained hanging in mid-air. Trey sweatdropped and parted the bushes. Dakarimon scratched his head and said, "I think they made it too strong this time." James sighed and looked up at the Destined. Casey yelled, "I'm getting a head rush!"

Trey looked up at Casey and said sarcastically, "Get over it, Casey." Dakarimon chuckled and said, "You'd better get them down before we have to get a medical team in here." Trey nodded and looked at James. "Help me get them down." James nodded and got underneath the Destined, as did Trey.

Unfortunately, the rope chose that specific moment to give out and the 4 Digidestined fell to the ground… right on top of Trey and James. Needless to say, a lot of moaning and groaning followed, mostly from James and Trey.

A few members of the crew walked out and looked at the rope, shaking their heads. It must have been some sort of trick rope someone put on set this time, so they replace the ropes with ones which are looked at by everyone before Take 3 is began at the exact same place again…

-Take 3-

Dakarimon came in at the appropriate time and didn't bother to give his standard line, having some sort of sixth sense that this take wasn't going to count either.

And, indeed, when Dakarimon tried to cut the rope and free the Destined, one of the ropes, almost as if it had a mind of its own, looped around Dakarimon's ankle and literally threw him in the direction of Mauville City as the Destined came down from the tree.

No screams or anything came from Dakarimon, as he had been anticipating his problems on this take. The only sign was when Trey looked up and saw Dakarimon disappear over the horizon sort of like a classic Team Rocket 'take-off'. Trey shook his head and said, "I just hope Dakarimon is ready to do another take…"

Josh added, "Or three." Casey chimed in, "Or five." Before Kyle or Ryo could say anything, Trey said, "We get the idea…"

-Take 4-

After another run-through of the exact same scene, Dakarimon came back in and sighed. "Let's just hope this works." As Dakarimon looked at the rope, he saw something which he considered strange… the rope had gone from a brownish color to a grayish color without any warning from the staff.

The Lupine Digimon shrugged and slashed his naginata through all 4 ropes and heard 4 dull twangs, followed by 4 thuds into the ground. The scene looked like it had finally gone right, but then Dakarimon got a good look at his Naginata and largely sweatdropped, "What in the… How did this happen?!"

Trey ran into the bushes and asked, "What's going on?" Dakarimon showed Trey his naginata, which looked positively ruined. Trey palmed his face and asked, "How did you manage to do that?"

Dakarimon pointed to the gray ropes. Trey looked down and grabbed the rope, before glaring off-stage. "This isn't standard rope… is it?" A random crew member sweatdropped and answered sheepishly, "That was steel rope because of all the problems we've been having with standard rope."

From the 4 Destined who had been ensnared 4 times before this take came a large number of moans and groans over having to deal with being ensnared again. Ryo asked, "Why can't we get stunt doubles to do something like this?"

The Producer announced from his booth, "Because we don't have the funding to afford it, already! If we had enough money, we wouldn't have had you hanging from ropes to begin with!"

After a couple of impromptu contract negotiations, the cast was ready to do this one more time…

-Take 5-

When the Digidestined are once more ensnared, the scene began just like it had before. The looks of annoyance on Josh, Kyle, Ryo and Casey were completely genuine, as they had become sick of being upside-down and hearing that stupid motto time and time again.

However, Jessie, James and Meowth wouldn't get more than 5 seconds into their motto before the Destined began to be pulled upward James blinked and asked, "That's not supposed to happen… is it?" Dakarimon, behind the bushes, noticed that the ropes were not tied to stakes on the ground and followed the ropes. When he saw what the ropes were connected to, he palmed his face. "Why…?"

Jessie saw the Destined go up and over the branch and began to be dragged off with a lot of yelps and small screams from the Destined. Trey looked at the 3 Rockets and asked sternly, "What happened?" Meowth smirked and said, "We got sick an' tired of doing dis scene over and over. So, we tied the ropes to a nearby truck so 'dat da twerps can get demselves down!"

Trey gave Meowth a look which essentially told Meowth that he was just a step or two away from being choked by Trey.

-Back at the Pub-

Trey looked at the clip and chuckled. "Fortunately, that was the last bad take we had to endure before we finally got it right." Kyle drank a bit from his cup and said, "Who would have ever thought so much could go wrong with a simple rope?"

Josh and Trey nod in agreement. Josh added, "But, there are some ideas which were just better left on the cutting room floor."

Trey chuckled and said, "Not going to stop us from showing the footage, is it?" Both Josh and Kyle shook their heads. "Nope!"

-Episode 27, courtesy of Ninetalesuk-

Jessie and James had just landed after being blasted out of Trick House, Meowth not far behind at the moment. Jessie looked around and sighed. "Finally… we're out of that crazy place." James said, making an observation of the obvious.

Jessie brushed herself off and said, "It's too bad about losing that Beldum…" At that moment, Jessie looked to her feet and saw a Vulpix… with foam around its mouth. Jessie immediately freaked out. "Maybe we're not out of that place!"

Jessie ran off as James and Meowth looked at each other. Moments later, the two of them heard what sounded like cell phone dialing. They looked down and spied the Vulpix on the phone. "Hey. This is not how I wanted to break into show business!"

Meowth sweatdropped and asked, "Is dat Vulpix… talking with its agent?" Vulpix growled, "I ought to fire you for this gig!"

James looked at Meowth and then they both quickly followed Jessie away from that crazy house.

Just moments later, Dakarimon hopped by and blinked. "I could have sworn their trajectory would land them here…" He continued to walk past as Trey soon followed, saw the Vulpix on the phone, and sweatdropped mildly, "Yep. Nothing unusual going on here, that's for sure…"

-Episode 26, courtesy of Ninetalesuk-

Following a run-in with a very mischievous Gastly, Casey fell under a spell of Hypnosis. Unlike the final run idea, though, this idea has a bit more… how shall we put this… saucy flavor.

Not long after falling under the spell of the Gastly, Casey had a very bright idea, and by bright, we mean very dim. Casey ran into a nearby outdoor restroom, conveniently located next to the joke stand, and did something no one would want to ever admit to… stripping down to her skivvies.

To make matters even worse, not for herself, but for her purported boyfriend, Casey ran out moments later and secured Kyle and she together using a standard pair of joke handcuffs then began running through town, all while Kyle was doing everything in his power to wake his friend up.

Kyle slapped Casey and shook her and just about everything else he could, but it wasn't until Officer Jenny happened to appear that Gastly's spell happened to wear off…

Jenny yelled, "You're both under arrest because of indescent exposure!" Kyle sweatdropped and asked, "Why do I have to be under arrest? I'm fully clothed!"

Jenny responded with a simple, "Because you're both handcuffed together and I don't have the key!"

Casey began to groan and grabbed her head as they were being dragged to the nearby police station. "Where am I…?"

Kyle looked at Casey and said, "Great job, you idiot! Look what kind of trouble you've gotten us into!" Kyle lifted his cuffed arm and pointed down to prove the point. Casey blinked and looked down before eeping and blushing out of a great deal of embarrassment.

Josh, who had been watching from a distance, couldn't help but laugh, to himself, at their predicament. A reaction which prompted Ryo to smack him in the back of the head.

-Episode 10, courtesy of Patrick O'Shea-

Caryl looked at Casey and asked one simple question. "Can I borrow those handcuffs of yours?" Casey blinked and then nodded. "I don't see why not."

Ryo sweatdropped and asked, "Aren't you going back home today?" Caryl nodded. "Yeah, but I want to borrow something before I go… just so I have a reason to come back."

Kyle deadpanned and asked, "You mean besides the Pokemon Contests you're so anxious to enter?" Caryl nodded again. She then walked in the direction of Josh and smiled. Josh looked a bit nervous, not liking the way she looked at that moment.

Moments later, Caryl broke into a run and quick as a flash locked Josh's hands behind his back, a position he had been in before, as he glared at the annoying Caryl.

However, things were about to get worse, as Caryl whipped around and secured a second pair of shackles, this time around Josh's ankles, as he sweatdropped.

Finally, Caryl brought forth her favorite Pokemon, Aerodactyl, and literally flung Josh onto its back. Ryo and Kyle both massively sweatdropped, while Casey began to clap loudly, cheering Caryl's efforts to take away her major rival.

Meanwhile, Josh flailed as hard as he could atop Aerodactyl, but a simple nod caused the gigantic ancient bird to coil its tail around Josh, stopping the flailing, or at least keeping him atop the bird.

Caryl leapt on and smiled, waving, "Have a nice time, you three! I promise I'll bring him back when I return for Slateport Conference!"

Josh yelled out, "Help me!" This caused Caryl to look back and say, "Shut up!" Ryo and Kyle both looked on as Caryl took off on Aerodactyl.

Kyle then asked out of temptation, "Why didn't you help Josh?" Ryo looked at Kyle and responded, "Do you really want to deal with an angry, hyped-up girl who happens to be your girlfriend?" Kyle rolled his eyes and responded, "I wouldn't know anything about that."

-Episode 1-

Aboard the ship heading for Hoenn, Casey looked for her 'boyfriend', Kyle, as one might expect her to do. Casey yelled, "Kyle! Oh, Kyle! Where are you?"

The answer would come just moments later when, by complete and total accident, Kyle walked right into Casey's path and the two of them would run into one another.

Kyle looked down and immediately said, "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Casey recognized the voice almost immediately and smiled, giving the boy a big bear hug. Kyle grunted and wondered what was going on.

Upon closer inspection, Kyle discovered purple hair and asked in a strained voice, "You wouldn't happen to be Casey, would you?" Casey looked up with a smile. "Yep! And I'm going to make sure you never, EVER leave my sight again!"

Kyle lightly sweatdropped, but then nodded several times, asking, "Can you please let me go now?" Casey gave Kyle a mischievious look and asked, "You promise not to go anywhere without me again?" Kyle nodded. "I promise." His face was starting to turn blue from the squeezing, prompting Casey to finally let go.

-Back at the Pub-

Josh wiped his brow and said, "It's nice to finally get this footage out to the public, isn't it?"

Trey nodded, "It most certainly is. Finally, people can see how this show actually works." Kyle smiled. "And speaking of which, we would be remiss to complete an Outtake special without showing the folks at home the true Outtakes."

Trey chuckled, 'The dropped lines, the physical humor, and the general wackiness we have to contend with on a daily basis?" Kyle nodded definitively, "Most definitely, Trey."

-Outtake 1-

During a random sequence when Casey and Josh were yelling at each other (take your pick –ed.) Ryo and Kyle look around rapidly. Seeing some random shards of glass on the ground, they quickly pick up the shards, trying not to cut themselves in the process.

The reason for doing something so dangerous was that the two rivals looked like they might kill each other at any time, as if this was any change from the norm.

But, what they didn't see was that a couple of crew members had gotten drunk and were actually breaking beer bottles and spreading more glass on the set for no apparent reason, other than to see Kyle and Ryo suffer, apparently.

-Outtake 2-

Edward Silver, while traveling in Hoenn, stayed in the Pokemon Center in Mauville City, mostly because of its central location and convenience. During a routine stay, Edward had to use canned food, something his Digimon Partner was less than thrilled about.

"Why do I have to eat food out of a can? You know that stuff doesn't agree with me too well!" Penguinmon protested, trying to get some "decent food". Edward sighed and said, "Between you and Lugia, feeding the two of you is rather costly. I have to save money somewhere for a little while."

Lugia made a cute little noise in approval. Edward sighed and used an electric can opener to open the can. As Penguinmon looked out the window, he began to notice a strange trend. A number of Pokemon, including Vulpix, Taillow, Pidgey and even Meowth gathered at the window, looking in at Edward opening the food can with drool literally coming out of their mouths.

Penguinmon began to say, "Edward…" as if he was whining. Edward groaned and responded, "Quit complaining about the quality of the food already!" Penguinmon shook his head, "It's not about the food, Edward… look!"

Edward sighed as he turned around, "Look, Penguinmon, I…" Edward stopped cold when he saw all of the Pokemon gathered at the window.

Penguinmon sweatdropped and noted, "It's just like being in one of those pet food commercials, isn't it?"

Edward nodded, while Lugia slid over to the window and chirped happily at the Pokemon outside it.

-Outtake 3-

The Vulpix from Episode 26 continued chatting on the phone with its agent. "Yes, I know I have to break into show business somewhere… I just didn't think it would happen this way!"

-Back at the Pub-

Josh immediately stopped the film and sweatdropped. "How did that get on there?" Kyle asked jokingly, "Do you think that Vulpix was trying to send us a message?" Trey chuckled and nodded. "That's what I think."

Kyle then chuckled and pulled out one final reel. "But, what outtakes show would be complete without a ridiculous montage of Team Rocket blast-offs?" Trey chimed in, "If Pokemon did something like this special, they would include something like this next segment…"

Josh nodded in agreement, "Which is why we're doing it."

-Montage-

The montage began innocently enough, with one of Team Rocket's many mecha over the years, this montage actually including the many times Jessie and James were blasting off during the course of the original Pokemon series, as well as the numerous ones during this show's run.

And all of this was set to the music of Robert Palmer, appropriately enough, with "You Blow Me Away".

-Elsewhere in the Pub-

Jessie and James are actually there, sipping on drinks, sighing. Jessie looked into her drink and asked, "Is that the only reason we're here; to provide the comic relief?" James patted Jessie on the shoulder and said, "Relax. We'll regain our relevance someday soon, I just know it."

Meowth came in with a big cat-like grin on his face, which was easy to do because… well, he was a cat. James asked rather flatly, "Why are you so happy?" Meowth chuckled and said, "I stole da previews of upcoming episodes in Season 2 when dese tree weren't lookin'."

Jessie blinked a couple of times, "And… what's your point, Meowth?" Meowth continued grinning and responded slyly, "Simple, Jess. We're about to get a whole lot more powerful 'den ever before!" Both of the Rockets seated there raised their eyebrows, not quite believing him.

Meowth finished in an almost whisper, "Plus, da boss is comin' back." Both of them got big smiles on their faces when they heard that, as all three left the Pub, happy.

-Back at the Main Table-

As the montage finishes up, all three are laughing pretty hard, though Trey was the first to stop, feeling some semblance of pity for the beleaguered Team Rocket. Kyle smiled and then raised his glass in a toast, "To more seasons of good entertainment!"

Both Trey and Josh raised their glasses and all 3 clinked. A few moments later, Josh's cell phone rang and he blinked, answering it. "Hello?"

Trey and Kyle looked at the "boss" and blinked, wondering what was going on. Josh nodded a couple of times and made generic remarks of acknowledgment during the conversation.

After a few moments, Josh nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you." Josh then hung up the phone and turned to his two partners. "I have some good news. Turns out the head of Digicross likes the new intern, so he's going to give him a chance."

Kyle pumped his fist and smiled, "Yes! I knew he would!" Trey frowned slightly and shook his head. After a few moments, he then smirked. "That's okay. I'll be able to keep an eye on him."

Josh blinked and looked at Trey. "What do you mean?" Trey's look continued, "Let me show you."

Trey then pushed a button on a random remote and brought up a camera which someone was holding right outside an office which had the name of the newest author to join the ranks of DCA, Alan Wilkinson, having received his office before Pat called Josh.

Trey yelled out, "Turn on the special lens!" Moments later, the vision from the camera changed so that they could see through the door and into Alan, who was busy doing some work on a random assignment.

They watched for a few moments until Alan got up to go get a drink. At that moment, Trey chimed in, "Watch this. This is how I'm going to make sure Alan stays under control, so to speak."

Alan opened the refrigerator door and then sweatdropped as a Trey clone came out. Back at the Pub, Trey, Kyle and Josh couldn't help but laugh, but Alan, after "checking in" with the Trey clone, decided to go for a little walk…

Narrator: And so, thanks to an alert camera crew, and a good idea, the worst moments of Season 1 were revisited. And it is on this note that we must draw a close to Season 1 of Digicross Advanced. However, it is far from the end of the road.

Next season, we have spills, thrills, chills, and other words that don't rhyme with ill. We also have a much… darker plotline for us to traverse. As Team Rocket said, look forward to the return of their boss, Giovanni, as well as other surprises. New faces and old, they will be going on the adventure of a lifetime.

All of that is coming up on Digicross Advanced Season 2, "Rise of Darkness". But, before we leave you this season, I'll bet you're wondering about Alan… well, after some initial problems which got him fired by Trey, the boss of Digicross gave him a second chance to shine… and did so, allowing him to keep his job for good. This is what happened after he's gotten settled into his new accommodations as an author. Now, as a bit of a warning, this bit might offend some of you… as such, for the first, and most definitely not last, time, we're bumping the rating up to a T for this segment. That much in mind, enjoy…

DCA Omake 2 Extra: "Incorrigibility."

Written by Alan Wilkinson

_A few weeks later._

While employed at DCA Enterprises, all cast and crew were given shared accommodation in a skyscraper nearby. Casey, as it happened, had lucked into Room 666 and entered with dread. The last week had not been pleasant.

"Hey," Alan said, looking through a few things on his laptop.

Casey stared at him for a moment in disbelief, and then launched herself at him. "You're back!" she cheered, hugging him fiercely.

"Casey, watch it!" Alan laughed, just about managing to stop his laptop from crashing onto the floor. "Ow." he added as Casey thwacked him across the head.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"Wouldn't have been a surprise then, would it?" Alan grinned, kissing her on the cheek. "Henry wasn't that bad, was he?"

"Are you _kidding_? He's the most peaceful, unmoving person on the planet. Spending a week with him wasn't just boring, it was torture."

"He wouldn't have sex with you." Alan translated.

"Well, no." Casey admitted. "But it was more than that. We had _nothing_ in common and he spent most of the time meditating. Terriermon has a sense of humour at least, but every time I brought up the Electabuzz, he'd run away and hide."

Alan laughed at this. "You're incorrigible." he told her, pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

After a few minutes of tonsil hockey, Casey gave her boyfriend a pointed look, "Like you can talk. Speaking of which, you might want to be on good behaviour. They fired you once, they can do it again."

"Probably," Alan replied blandly.

Casey sighed. "You brought a girl home again, didn't you?"

"Go look." Alan replied. Sighing again, Casey got up and wandered over to the bedroom, and stuck her head round the door, carefully. She quickly withdrew it again, her face paling.

"Is that Hitomi?" she demanded.

"Might be," Alan replied calmly, deliberately not looking at her.

"Aw hell," Casey groaned. "Alan, if Pat finds out you've deflowered his favourite virgin, he's going to ... he's... well, he's flat-out going to kill you."

"Actually, at best Hitomi would have only been Pat's second favourite virgin." Alan corrected.

Casey frowned. "Who's first?"

"Rika," Alan still didn't dare look at Casey, but easily read her reaction from the sudden strong smell of shit. "Funny story." he continued. "During my absence I was talking to Pat and he told me very firmly that Rika wasn't a lesbian. And then what do I find out?"

Now he turned to look at her, fixing her with a stern glare. "I find out that _you_ brought her here, got her drunk and shagged her senseless on the snooker table." He frowned. "And since when have we had a snooker table anyway? It's not like Henry plays."

Casey swallowed. "He told you."

"And you almost gave him a heart attack." Alan shot back. "According to him, he and Terriermon got in to find you two on top of the bookshelf, naked and covered in each others vomit."

"Does Pat know?"

Alan's expression softened. "I doubt it. I certainly haven't told him and Henry said he wasn't going to. Terriermon would rather forget he saw anything. Besides, Rika knows how to pretend to be straight. Better yet, she can actually act, so you're probably safe."

"Thank Aruseus for that." Casey deflated. "What are you working on anyway?"

"Just doing some further edits on a scenario test Josh set for me. It was how we convinced Trey to let me back in. Once I've finished adjusting it a bit, it'll be a shooting script for a later ep." (DCA ep 38, "What's my Liner". Look out for it -ed)

"Bet the crew are glad to have you back." Casey commented. "If nothing else, it saves them a fortune on re-shoots; we've already got five of next season's eps in the can, including two eps from your trilogy."

Alan chuckled. "I can still remember everyone's faces when they found out the lake scene was your idea." Casey blushed, grinning sheepishly. "Besides, we're not completely free from re-shoots. Trey let slip some more details for what he'd had in mind for the final part of the Crossroads trilogy and it looks like the first scene of the Winstrate ep is gonna need changing to accommodate it."

"One scene won't kill us." Casey shrugged. "Do you want to have sex?"

Alan winced. "I hate it when you change subjects like that. And no, sadly."

"Why not?" Casey moaned.

"Because after I finish this, Josh and Trey wanted me to have a go at doing that last Crossroads part."

Casey whistled. "That's the Season opener. Trey's okay with that?"

"He suggested it."

"Ah." Casey glanced toward the bedroom. "Don't suppose Hitomi would consider...?"

Alan shrugged. "Ask her. Though you might want to change your panties first."

Grumbling about smart-alec Brits, Casey headed for the bathroom to get a shower. Then, maybe she'd try her luck with the young Tamers star.

You never knew, after all.

Narrator: … I'm not going to say a word… except to enjoy the vacation, and we'll see all of you for Season 2!

Next Episode: Kyle and James go on trial for their "crimes", while Trey and the Digidestined try to clear their names. Will it be success or failure for our young heroes? Find out next time on the Season Premiere of Digicross Advanced!


End file.
